Destiny Lost: Book II
by maymayB
Summary: Sequel to Destiny Lost Book I. After defeating Frieza, the newly ascended Saiyan prince now must cross another hurdle... defeating his father... who is hell bent on destroying him. Can he keep Bulma and their unborn son safe long enough to find out what his father has planned for he and his rebel army?
1. Visitors

**Well, here we are. Chapter One, Book 2. For those of us that are just now joining us, who hasn't read Book 1... I suggest you go back and read it. Things may seem a little confusing if you haven't. For those of you that have already read it... WELCOME BACK! You all know that most of my chapters for DL Book 1, are much longer than this chapter. Trust me, they'll be longer. =)**

**I must thank AylaWilson16 for being my personal muse. Honestly, she has helped me out immensely with this series. **

**And thank you to WithoutWingsX for beta'ing =)**

**Please make sure to read the authors note at the end of this chapter. As always, this fic is rated M, for dark themes, language and adult themes.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or it's characters. I do, however, own this story.**

* * *

Vegeta sat on the edge of the large bed, his feet on the plush carpet and his elbow resting on his knees.

He glanced at the digital clock and groaned inwardly when he saw what time it was...

1:15 am

The Sayian dipped his head and ran both hands through his thick hair, and contemplated on if he should attempt to try and get some sleep or just get up and train.

A small whimper pulled him from his thoughts. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his blue haired mate had shifted in her sleep, her long tresses framing her face and shoulders making her look like an exotic blue angel... his angel. One arm lay above her head and the other lay gently atop her growing belly.

It had taken him a while to get used to the fact that he was going to be a father. The news came out of nowhere and the way he found out about his impending fatherhood wasn't an ideal way of finding out either.

The memory forever engraved in his mind of Frieza threatening her and his cub if she didn't tell him who her mate was...That was the worst feeling in the entire universe.

Still looking over at her, Vegeta could tell she was uncomfortable, even in her sleep. She was only six months along, but their cub was already showing signs of being a strong one, and he let his mother know it. The child was very active and seemed to be more so during the early hours of the morning, making it difficult for both his mother and father to sleep.

Bulma, for the most part, would sleep through their child's calisthenics. Vegeta on the other hand, being hypersensitive to his mate and child, would be woken by its ki. He even had fallen victim to one of its kicks in the middle of the night. It didn't hurt him; it just surprised the hell out of him.

Tonight was one of those nights. The brat had been active for thirty minutes now and was making it difficult for Vegeta to fall back asleep... that and the nightmare.

The Prince stealthily lifted off of the bed and grabbed a pair of running shoes Bulma had bought him a few months back. He slipped them on and headed towards the balcony of their room, and jumped off, landing in the soft sand soundlessly.

He noted how humid it was as he started jogging down the beach, heading to the 'tourist' side of the island. He was happy it was too early for people to be out, otherwise he'd have a gaggle of girls trying to chase after him... especially since he only had a pair of loose fitting training shorts and running shoes on.

As he gained speed Vegeta thought about the nightmare that was haunting him again. Ever since he killed Frieza, the dreams ceased. But they started up again a month ago.

Nothing changed about it. It was the same one of his father ripping him out of his mother's arms.

Bulma thought that it was his subconscious trying to tell him something, as did he. But what could it be?

* * *

He and Bulma's mansion came into view as he paced himself, finishing the last mile of his run.

After the two of them took care of Yamcha and Dory, they attempted to find Deryln Perts and his wife, but were unsuccessful. So, Vegeta decided that the two of them would live there... after all, Bulma did say she wanted to live in a place just like it when they first met. And who was he to deny her something like that? Especially when the owners were nowhere to be found...

As he neared the private beach, his regular scowl turned into a deep frown, sensing two familiar ki's. He shook his head and picked up his pace.

Bulma lay in one of the reclining chairs in the sand, looking up at the stars. Both hands rubbing each side of her stomach as she hummed quietly.

"Woman."

She turned her head slightly. Vegeta stood beside her, looking down at her with his arms crossed over his bare chest, giving her a look of disapproval.

"You know I don't like you out here by yourself... especially at night." He sat on his haunches next to her and brushed back a lock of blue hair from her face.

"I know." She said quietly. "I couldn't get comfortable. So I got up and walked around for a while, trying to calm the baby down. When that didn't work I came out here to wait for you to come back from running." Her eyes drooped sleepily as she looked over to him.

He looked down at her belly, concentrating on his cub's ki. It was starting to calm down now, finally giving his mother a break. He looked back up to Bulma to tell her she should go back to bed, but she was already asleep.

Vegeta looked back at her belly and scowled. "You need to take it easy on her. She's only human you little runt." He narrowed his eyes on his cub's temporary home and then scooped up his mate, taking her back to their room.

* * *

**The next morning**

Bulma smiled at the fruit vendor as the woman handed her the purchases.

"Thank you." The blue haired woman said as she slung the bag full of melons and other fruits over her shoulder.

"You're welcome, Miss Bulma." The magenta skin colored woman answered, giving her a friendly smile.

Bulma continued down the open aired market place. Ever since she and Vegeta made Utopia their home, she had visited the outdoor market at least once a week. Stocking up on the delicious fruits, vegetables and of course meat (Vegeta's favorite).

She looked down at her watch. Seeing that it was close to noon, she decided that she should head home. Vegeta was expecting to be back soon from his daily training session in the jungle. Bulma left the market place and headed in the direction of home.

If Vegeta knew she was walking home, he'd have a coronary. It wasn't a long walk home, only thirty minutes anyhow, plus she needed the exercise. He had loosened up a little after the whole Frieza ordeal. He was still over protective, but he was starting to ease up as the months went on. He no longer followed her to the bathroom or wherever else she went. He was constantly shadowing her...wherever she went, he went.

If they were out in public and someone had looked at her the wrong way, he'd practically tear their faces off. One time, to Bulma's udder embarrassment, a friendly old woman tried to touch her pregnant stomach. Vegeta growled at her like a wild animal and proceeded to tell her to back the fuck off or he'd break her head off of her neck and use it as a paperweight.

It was safe to say, Bulma was feared from then on.

But, since things were calm, he allowed her to have some space... kind of. He just recently started to let her go to the market by herself while he was training. But she had to check in with him via scouter every thirty minutes.

She waved to the familiar vacationers that lounged on the beach. Some knew who she was, some were clueless.

The one's, who knew who she was, opted to stay clear of her. Knowing she was the mate of the banished prince of Saiyans, who, as rumor had it, may or may not have killed Lord Frieza of the Cold Empire made people a little skittish. Especially knowing how aggressively protective Saiyan's were over their mates. People opted to respectively wave from a safe distance. The other's who had no clue who she was, would strike up conversation with her, blissfully unaware of the danger they were putting themselves in.

As she neared the pillar that sectioned off the 'public beach' from their private beach, a feeling of aggravation struck her. She rolled her eyes and continued on. Vegeta was home, and surprise, surprise he was aggravated.

Out of the corner of her eye she caught something moving in the brush. It wasn't an animal, she was sure of it. She kept calm, and continued to the nearest entrance to the house. Knowing Vegeta was home she knew she was safe, and if whoever that was hiding in brush meant her harm, they'd meet the wrath of her Saiyan Prince.

Keeping her eyes forward, she quickened her pace all the while keeping tabs at the presence that was stalking her at the edge of the brush that lined the side of her home. She reached the side door and entered, closing the door and locking it behind her.

"Vegeta?" She called out, turning around to look back out the window. Seeing nothing out there, she walked into the living room area and yelped as Vegeta fazed in front of her. "What the hell, Vegeta. Are you trying to throw me into premature labor?"

Bulma looked up, and quickly quieted. Her mate's face was deadly serious and he looked around him as if he was hunting something.

"We're surrounded." He said in a rough whisper. He grabbed hold of her upper arm and yanked her closer to him protectively.

"I thought I saw something following me... what do they want? Who are they?"

Vegeta sniffed the air and growled. He scooped her up and headed towards the kitchen, but halted. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end and he couldn't help the low predatory rumble that reverberated from his chest. His lip curled upward, baring his sharp canines as he gripped Bulma tight.

"Where do you think you're going?" Came a voice from behind.

Bulma tensed, hearing the deep voice of a male coming from behind her mate. The prince slowly and carefully put her down and turned around, making sure to keep his protective grip around her arm.

A tall man, that looked almost identical to Bardock, stood just a few feet in front of them. His hair was a touch longer than their friend and looked to be a little bit younger than he as well. He was dressed is Saiyan armor, as was the two very large and burly Saiyans that appeared out of nowhere, flanking the Bardock look-a-like.

Vegeta stood there, his teeth still bared at the tall Saiyan. The muscle that lined his jaw throbbed as she clenched his teeth together.

"What makes you think you can just walk into my home?" Vegeta spat.

The man smiled. "Now, now. No need to start off on the wrong foot. My name is Turles. I am one of the highest commanding officers in the Saiyan army. I do believe you know my brother, Bardock."

Vegeta continued to stare at him, his body rigid, ready to strike if any one of them dared make a move on him or his woman.

"It's an honor to meet you finally, Prince Vegeta." Turles said, inclining his head in slight respect. He then leaned to the side, trying to get a better look at the blue haired woman. Bulma was peeking out from the side of Vegeta's muscular arm to get a better look at the intruders.

"And you," Turles said, making eye contact with her. "Am I to assume you are Vegeta's mate?"

The prince shifted and shoved Bulma back and growled at Turles. "You haven't answered my question." Vegeta bit out.

Turles straightened. "I am here on behalf of your father-"

Vegeta brought his hand up, stopping Turles mid sentence. "Stop right there. I don't give a rats ass what that piece of shit has to say to me."

The three saiyans visibly flinched at Vegeta's words towards their king.

"You dare speak of our king that way?" Turles barked.

Vegeta smirked. "Yes I do. So, now that we've got that cleared up, get the fuck out of my house."

Turles narrowed his eyes on Vegeta. "I'm afraid I can't do that until I tell you why I'm here. Let's not do anything that will risk the lives of your mate and your cub." He raised an eyebrow at the prince and looked at Bulma. "What do you say, Prince?"

Vegeta stuck his nose up at him. Obviously, the dumb ass didn't know of Vegeta's ascension. He could rip the three men apart before the other five that were 'hiding' in other parts of the home came to help their Saiyan counterparts out. "Speak, quickly before I lose my temper."

The Saiyan smirked slightly at him. Even though the King had banished him at such a young age, Vegeta still acted like a royal. "The King, your father," He paused, giving the prince a disapproving glare when he let out a 'PFT!'. He continued. "requests your presence on Planet Vegetasei."

Vegeta scoffed. "Great. You have delivered your message. Now get the fuck out." Vegeta pointed towards the door.

"You and your mate have three months to get to Vegetasei. For every day that you are not there after your three months is up, King Vegeta will destroy a planet in which you and your rebel army has worked so hard to restore order on. Starting with Namek. And seeing as it will take you up to two months to get there, I suggest you make your mind up quickly."

Bulma's eyes widened. Ever since Frieza's death, Bardock had made it a point to relocate the people of the purged planets they were able to save from Frieza's army back to their respective planets. He had even sent pods of rebel soldiers to live at said planets for protection. To date, they were protecting fifty planets. And the numbers of planets in which they were restoring order grew weekly.

Vegeta chuckled darkly. "Like I give a shit what you do to those planets."

Bulma hissed at him and jabbed him as hard as she could in the ribs. She cared, she cared a lot. Especially about Namek. It's where Piccolo was from and currently was living, protecting his people.

He looked down at his mate disapprovingly.

Turles barked orders to his men, in his saiyan language, that it was time to go. He smiled at the prince and Bulma. Before he turned to leave he looked at Vegeta thoughtfully. "You look just like him. You even wear your hair the same way your father does." He chuckled. "Make sure you bring your mate along. The king would like to meet her." He motioned to his men to follow and exited the house.

Vegeta stood his ground until he felt every last Sayian leave the premises. Only then did he let go of Bulma.

"We should start packing." She said, heading towards their bedroom.

"No."

Bulma stopped and turned around as fast as her pregnant body would allow. "No?" She marched up to the prince, and poked his square in the chest. "NO? You listen here Vegeta, Prince of all Sayians, we will be going to your home planet. We will listen to what your wretched father wants from the both of us and we will prevent the crazed idiot from destroying planets that we worked so hard to protect, including the planet that my adoptive father is living on!"

He looked down at his over emotional mate, her cheeks red with anger and eyes largely dilated.

"Woman, you cannot expect me to allow you to go to planet Vegtasei, in which my father, who by the way, hand delivered me to the asshole lizard that made my life a living hell for ten years, resides!" As he spoke his voice grew louder until he was screaming at her. "Oh and by the way, you're pregnant, woman! This is obviously a fucking trap!"

Bulma narrowed her eyes at him, placing both hands on her hips. "Yes, I know I'm pregnant, jerk. And I'm not discussing this with you anymore." She took a deep intake of air and rubbed her belly. "Look. You are the strongest being in the universe. I highly doubt anyone's power can compare to yours." She took a step forward and placed both hands on his muscled chest. "There's no getting around this, Vegeta. Yes, this is a trap...obviously. But I see no other choice. Your father and his men know things about us. Why else would he threaten to destroy Namek first? If anything, you will just have to reclaim your throne a little earlier than expected."

Vegeta lowered his head, placing his forehead on top of her head. She made sense.

With a heavy sigh he nodded his head in agreement.

* * *

They immediately called Bardock and Piccolo to fill them in on their 'home invasion', and the four of them made sure Queen Alina was to remain close to Nappa and Raditz, who were acting as bodyguards for the queen now-a-days. Bardock and Piccolo upped security on base as well as the planets that were under their care.

They decided to leave in a week, giving them enough time to stock up a ship with necessary things like food, fuel, etc.

Once calls were made and plans were set, Bulma was ready for bed. She crawled into their oversized mattress and waited for Vegeta, who was in the bathroom.

Just as she was dozing off, the door to the bathroom opened with a loud thud. Bulma jumped slightly and rubbed her eyes as she looked at Vegeta. At first she thought her sleepy eyes were playing tricks on her.

Bulma shook her head not believing what she was seeing. She rubbed her eyes again and refocused on her mate.

The saiyan irritably ran his hand through his now, short head of hair. The flame like do was replaced with short spikes, making him look older than his age of twenty four, and in Bulma's opinion, even more sexy.

* * *

Beta'd by WithoutWingsX

**A/N:**

**If you guys read KimiruMai's fic; A Touch Of Legacy, I just wanted to let you know that I did not steal the scene of Vegeta cutting his hair from the latest chapter. I actually had the idea of my veggie cutting his hair for a while, she just beat me to it. =) I did message her just to see if it was ok to still put the scene in my fic, and she graciously gave me the OK. Also, for those of you who haven't had the chance to read that fic, please do so. It's witty, funny and freaking original. It is one of my favorites =)**


	2. Misery Loves Company

**Good lord I am so very sorry it took me forever to update! I was sick, and when I was feeling better, I caught the stomach flu. So... yeah, totally cut into my writing time!**

**And super WOW! 25 reviews for the first chapter! Super awesome. Thank you! I'm glad you all are enjoying it... even if I did cut Vegeta's hair. Do not fear, it will grow back and it's not the horrific flat top monstrosity hair do that he sported in the beginning of GT. If I find a pic I will let you all know. Just know that in my minds eye, he is sexy with his short spikes, but he will have his flame 'do' back soon, I promise.**

**This chappie was not beta'd due to me feeling super bad about the lag time in updating. I got super impatient and read over it myself... I hope it's not bad...**

**One more thing, I have started to update my profile, letting you all know what I'm working on and when I anticipate on updated chapters. So make sure you check it out and see what I'm currently working on =)**

**Alright... here we go... enjoy!**

**Disclaimer. Nope. Don't own DBZ or it's characters. BOOM!**

To say Vegeta was on edge for the duration of the trip to his birth planet was an understatement. He cutting his hair was just the start of it...

His mood swings rivaled Bulma's ten fold. One minute he'd be quiet, reserved and then the next he'd be yelling, screaming and ranting at the smallest things.

He was thankful that his mate was understanding... to an extent. She put up with his jump rope emotions, until he went too far. Either by taking his nervousness out on himself via training or on equipment on the ship (which usually was Bulma's machinery in her make shift lab) or verbally on her. Which she thought he did on purpose just to goad her into a verbal spar, because after all, misery loves company.

And as they got closer to planet fall, the worse he'd get.

When the red planet came into view in the view window of the their ship, Vegeta's already tense muscles tightened even more so.

They'd be landing soon, and he'd never admit it, but he was nervous and angry. Nervous for Bulma and his cub, and the situation at hand. Angry for his so-called father pulling a stunt to make him come to Planet Vegetasei. He knew he had to stay on guard and trust no one. He'd listen to what his father had to say and then leave, without incident. If it weren't for Bulma being in the condition she was in now, he'd have other destructive plans. But he couldn't risk the two precious lives that he treasured.

A warm delicate hand placed itself on his hardened shoulder muscle. He sighed slightly and continued to look at the red planet from where he sat.

"You will stay by my side at all times, Woman." His gruff voice was quiet and even, but stern. "You will not leave my sight."

Bulma moved from behind him, her swelled belly lightly brushing his arm as she gingerly sat down in the co-captains chair of the cockpit. She merely nodded in agreement.

Vegeta looked over to her, glancing at her belly and then back to her face. Her warm smile put him at ease ever so slightly.

XxXxXxXxX

Vegeta's tail wrapped itself, as much as it could, around Bulma's waist. He then hit the release button to open the hatch of their ship and extended the ramp.

Bulma walked slightly behind him, and was thankful that Vegeta kept a slow pace. Her poor pregnant body didn't allow her to move as quickly as she used to.

As they descended the ships ramp, the two of them were not surprised to see Turles patiently waiting for them.

"Ah, Prince Vegeta. I'm delighted to see you accepted your father's invitation." The tall Saiyan smiled as Vegeta gave him a low growl of disapproval. He arched an eyebrow at the prince. "You cut your hair."

"Wow, you're observant. No wonder your the highest ranking officer the King's army." Vegeta spat. He was in no mood for small talk.

Turles frowned at the prince and then motioned for them to follow. "If you and your mate will follow me, I will show you to your quarters." The Bardock look-a-like turned on his heal, and started towards a door that led to a long tube like thoroughfare that stretched for miles and miles. Other tubes splintered out from the sides of the main one, going off to different destinations of the Capitol City.

From what Bulma could see, it acted as a super highway for the people of the planet. Some walked and some flew to their destinations. The tube was made of thick see through glass, letting the sites of the scenery of the planet be seen. Bulma watched in wonder at the large bustling city that was just outside. The beautiful red sky with the three large suns hung over head and the deep green trees lined the city limits. The color contrasts were breath taking and much different than what she remembered from her time on Earth.

From inside the tube, Bulma looked on at a rather busy market place that seemed like the one she frequented on Utopia. The merchants were selling everything from cured meats to new and used armor.

People bartering and dickering prices and children played in the clean streets, mock fighting and playing games.

The City was magnificent and beautiful.

Her wonderment was interrupted by Vegeta's tail, it tightened and drug her close to him, until she was practically plastered to his side. His possessive arm linked around her shoulders and she could hear a low grumble rumbling from his chest.

Bulma looked at up at her mate, only to find his murderous, furrowed eyes straight forward and a scowl that told anyone that dared approach him that he meant business.

_What was up his butt?_

Her question was answered as Bulma scanned the area, and found that everyone they passed had literally stopped what they were doing to stare at the pair of them. Some people looked confused and surprised, some looked purely curious while others looked disgusted, especially at Bulma. Low whispers could be heard, mostly in their native tongue.

As they followed Turles further down the thoroughfare, the crowd of Saiyan's dissipated and the glass tube was no longer see through. Now it was made of black marble and the people that were walking about were dressed much nicer than the others that they had passed just a while ago. They all were garbed in the same kind of armor; shoulder pads that jutted out, white chest plates and red under armor.

"This is one of the main ways to get to the palace." Turles said over his shoulder. He nodded to a guard as he opened a large door and entered a truly spectacular building. Everything was made out of red and black marble like rock. There were guards at every corner and people of high stature, by the way they dressed and carried themselves, milled about the grand hallways of the palace.

They walked the maze of the palace and ended up in a hallway decorated with statue busts of what Bulma assumed were people of high importance.

"This is the guest suites." Turles said, stopping at a door. "These will be your quarters for the duration of your stay. Someone will be here within the hour to escort you two to dinner." Turles opened the door to their room and watched as they entered and then took his leave, walking the opposite way they came.

Bulma stopped at the entrance, she knew the drill, and it's not like she could have gone in further into the room if she wanted to.

Vegeta's tail remained firmly around her waist as he looked around cautiously the large room. Scanning for any unwanted guests that may be waiting for them.

Once her mate's tail unraveled from her and wound itself back around the prince's own waist, Bulma went straight to the large bay windows that overlooked the bustling and beautiful capitol city that the palace sat above.

In the near distance, what looked to be the center of the city, were five tall standing statue figures. All of them Saiyan men in armor, and all stood in different poses.

"That is the monument of the planet's greatest warriors." Vegeta said from behind her. "That one," He pointed over her shoulder, and lowering his head close to hers. "the one with his arms crossed, that is my grandfather. He was a great King, from what my mother had told me."

Bulma looked over to Vegeta. "Do.. Do you remember this place?"

Vegeta straightened and turned from the window. "Some things. I remember the statues and some parts of the palace. But memories that I have are either one's I would like to forget, or have wilted over time."

She played with her loose locks, not wanting press the subject any further. Bulma could feel the uncertainty and agitation radiating from her mate through their bond.

Vegeta followed behind his mate to the large adjoining bathroom, and leaned up against the wall.

"We will hear what the King has to say, and we will leave immediately after wards." He said as he watched Bulma brush her hair.

Bulma set the brush down straightened her top, smoothing her hands over her eight and a half month pregnant belly. "What do you suppose he wants?"

Vegeta shook his head as he pushed off of the wall. He walked over to where she was and looked at her through the mirrors reflection. "My assumption is that word got to him about me killing Frieza. And, him being a tactician like myself, I think he requested me here to... measure me up, so to speak."

"But why?"

"That is the question, Woman. We will find out soon enough."

xXxXxXxXx

True to his word, Turles sent a guide to their quarters, exactly an hour later.

The woman did everything in her power not to make eye contact at the couple. Bulma wasn't sure if it was because she was afraid of Vegeta or because she was one of the Saiyans that sided with the king and his choice to send Vegeta away, and was trying to hide her feelings from them.

Again, Vegeta protectively wrapped his tail around Bulma and held onto her shoulders as they followed the meek servant woman to a grand dining room.

In the center of the large room, sat an huge and beautifully carved table that could easily seat forty men.

As the couple entered, the occupants that were standing off to the side of the table, went into a hush. After an awkward few seconds, Turles walked up to them, a large smile on his face.

"Ah, Prince Vegeta. Come, I will introduce you." He pounded the prince on the back, earning him a scowl.

Vegeta let go of Bulma's shoulders as they approached the cluster of Saiyan's that were enjoying a cocktail before dinner.

"These men are the King's advisors." He waved his hands at three men dressed in formal armor, similar to what the guards of the palace wore.

They all inclined their head in semi respect to Vegeta, but the prince did not return the gesture. In turn he merely scowled at the men.

Turles then pointed at a curvy female Saiyan woman, in the same garb as Turles... except her outfit was more revealing. Her bare mid-drift showed off her toned abs and the very short under armor shorts showed her long slender but muscular legs. She was beautiful, her brown eyes matched her spiked long hair and tail and she carried herself with confidence.

"This is Endo. My second in command and the King's mistress."

For the first time in... well ever, Bulma became self conscience of herself. Nine months ago, she would have smiled cockily at the woman, knowing that her body was just as nice to look at than hers... Hell she would have boasted that she had more muscle tone that she. But now, she was just a mere 5'1 pregnant female, whose ankles got puffy if she stood too long.

The woman sauntered up to them and stood next to Turles. Endo smiled, showing her sharp incisors and bowed her head at Vegeta. All the while looking the prince up and down. She let her eyes linger on his crotch and then on his muscled chest that was only covered up with his usual armored chest plate that had seen better days.

_Practically undressing him with her eyes... the nerve!_. Bulma screamed inwardly and latched onto Vegeta's elbow, showing her that she was flirting with a man that was off limits!

Bulma could tell right off that Endo was very full of herself and was used to getting what she wanted... The Saiyan woman then looked to Bulma, her previous smile turned into a bored look and a slight scowl on her lips.

"Endo, this is Prince Vegeta and his... _mate_." Turles sneered the last word, as if he had a mouth full of dirt.

The woman's eyebrow arched as she turned her up down at Bulma. "Why ever would you take a human for a mate, my prince?"

Vegeta's tail tightened around Bulma's waist. He didn't need to see her reddened face to know that Bulma wanted to jump the woman. He gave his mate a sideways glance, the tip of his tail flicking her stomach silently telling her to calm herself.

"Especially when you could have any Saiyan woman you desired." Endo purred at him suggestively.

Vegeta clenched his jaw, but kept his cool. What he really wanted to do was blast every last one of these assholes to piles of steaming ash, especially the bitch who was coming onto him, right in front of his wife.

"Madam, if you disrespect my woman, you disrespect me. And I do not like to be disrespected."

Endo straightened slightly and smiled. "My apologies. It was merely an observation."

Once more the room hushed, and everyone except for Vegeta and Bulma bowed.

Vegeta automatically tensed as he and Bulma turned to see who had entered the room.

The King of all Saiyans stood tall and proud. His arms crossed and a knowing smirk played across his goateed lips. Standing next to him was a miniature version of himself (minus the goatee), who must have been Vegeta's brother Tarble. His flame like hair was worn just like his father, except for the bangs that spiked over his forehead. His posture was just like his fathers, and his older brother; stick straight, ready to pounce if threatened. But unlike his father, he was not smirking he was frowning.

Tarble followed his father as he walked towards his estranged son.

The room was silent in anticipation as father and son looked at one another.

"Son." The King's voice was just a touch deeper than Vegeta's but lacked the gravelly-ness that his eldest son did. The man kept his distance, but the smirk still stayed on his face.

As for Vegeta, his face was twisted into a sneer that if looks could kill, his father would have keeled over and his corpse would have ignited into flames. His fists were at his sides, his knuckles white, itching to throw a powerful punch at his smug face.

"Welcome home." He waited a few beats, and when his son did nothing but continue to scowl hatefully at him, he turned his attention to Bulma. And, again, for the umpteenth time that day, Vegeta's tail possessively tightened around her. "And, who is this?"

Silence.

It was uncomfortable.

Bulma elbowed him, growing tired of the tense quiet.

"She is my mate." Vegeta spat in a warning tone.

The King let out a chuckle as he took her in. Her exotic colors intriguing him, his brows arched at the site of her large stomach. He then turned to the other occupants of the room. "Come, let's eat."

They all sat down, leaving two open spots open for Bulma and Vegeta next to his father, who was sitting at the head of the table and across from Tarble.

Seconds after all was seated, fifteen palace workers scurried about, serving drinks and placing food in front of everyone.

Bulma sighed as she looked down at the heaping mound of food that sat in front of her. Meat, meat and more meat. There was a small portion of something that looked like a vegetable. What she really wanted was some fruit from Utopia, it was an insatiable craving thanks to her pregnancy.

As she dug into her plate of meat, she glanced at Vegeta who was chewing a mouthful of meat, all the while staring at his father.

Chewing her lower lip, Bulma looked back to the King, who was either oblivious to his son's stare or was ignoring him as he ate. She then turned her attention to Tarble and flinched slightly, surprised to see that he was staring at her.

She offered him a friendly smile, but he deepened his frown and arched an eyebrow at her.

Bulma too arched an eyebrow at the boy. They stared at each other and when Tarble's stare did not falter, Bulma leaned back in her chair and mouthed 'OK'. Creepy little kid.

"Ms. Bulma Briefs, Turles didn't do you justice when telling me of your beauty."

Bulma turned to the King, who now had his elbows propped up on the table, his fingers laced together.

"Oh. Thank you." She gave him a small smile.

"We've heard much about you over the years, you are said to be a genius. A woman with such beauty and just as much brain is rare."

Vegeta growled low and Bulma nodded at him politely.

"Yes, but a trouble maker." Said one of the advisors. An older man, who looked like he was out of shape to be a Saiyan warrior.

"And what do you mean by that, Sir." Bulma said with as much kindness she could muster. Her mother's words echoing in the back of her mind. _'Kill them with kindness, dear.'_

The man sneered at her. "You've caused much trouble for both our Empire and Frieza's. You are nothing but a terrorist."

Bulma smiled at him. "Well... I've been called worse."

The man gave her a stern look of disapproval, but held his tongue.

"Now, now, Jun." The King said jovially as he turned everyone's attention back to himself.

"King Vegeta, Is..." She paused. Bulma was fearful of the answer to her question. "Is my father still alive."

"Ah, yes. Dr. Trunks Briefs. He is, and is one of the best scientists I have had in a very long time."

Bulma couldn't help but smile. "May I see him?"

The King smirked. "All in good time, Girl. All in good time."

Bulma's shoulders slumped. At least he was still alive.

"Son, it pleases me that you accepted my invitation to come here."

Vegeta put his fork down and crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not like you gave us a choice."

The eldest Vegeta smirked. "How else would I have gotten you to come?"

"Let's cut the bullshit old man. Why are we here?"

The mutterings of the others ceased and all attention was now on their side of the table.

"Well, if you insist..." The King dabbed his mouth with a napkin and turned his body towards his son. "I believe you have some answers as to how and why Frieza and more than half of his army is dead."

The prince smirked. "Oh?"

The King's smirk turned into a familiar scowl. "Yes. Who was it that is responsible?"

"I think you already know the answer to that question."

Tarble laughed. "I highly doubt it was you." He sneered at his brother. "Father, really, Lord Frieza was the most powerful being in the universe next to you. What makes you think that _he_ could possibly vanquish him?"

Vegeta turned to his brother, acknowledging him for the first time. "You know nothing, Brat."

"Why did you do it?" His father asked.

Vegeta laughed. _What a loaded question_. "For starters, he threatened my cub and my mate's life... that pissed me of." He tapped his chin, dramatically looking upwards in mock thoughtfulness. "Hmmm let's see what else...Oh yes, he tormented me, beat me, used me as his play-thing, and after years and years of dealing with the dick head, I really wanted him dead... among other people." He gave his father a deathly glare, driving the point home.

"Are you telling us that you are stronger than Frieza?" Another one of the King's advisors piped up. "How do we know you didn't have your human make a weapon to take him down?"

Vegeta twisted his head to the Saiyan, giving him a toothy, evil smile. "Come over here, and I'll show you just how strong I am." He turned back to his brother. "I have reached the legendary." He then looked at his father. "I have achieved what the elders prophesized about me when I was born. The very thing you feared and the very reason why you sent me away. The very thing you were green with envy for and it seems your plan of enslaving me under Frieza's thumb has back fired on you _father_."

All traces of the smile the King had was gone and was replaced with a look of anger.

The prince smiled. "I ripped that fucker's head off with my bare hands, while he begged and pleaded for his life like a little bitch that he was."

King Vegeta cleared his throat. "Yes, well," He lifted his chin and looked down at his eldest son. "That being my assumption, I have a proposition for you."

Vegeta grunted.

"From what we have gathered, you were one of Frieza's most valuable soldiers. You completed purges in record time, never left loose ends. I would like to offer you a position on my army. You will be a top ranked officer, lead your own men. You will have a very comfortable life, you, your mate and your cub."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at him. "Why?"

"You've done your Saiyan heritage proud. It's time you come back to your people, instead of leading a bunch of weaklings and misfits in your _rebel_ army."

Bulma couldn't help but huff at the Kings statement.

The King continued. "A saiyan of your power deserves to lead Saiyans. Not share an army with a deserter, a Namekian and a pregnant human." He pointed to Bulma with slight disgust.

Vegeta opened his mouth to rebut, but Bulma beat him to it.

"Deserves? Are fucking kidding me? Did your ten year old son deserve to be handed over to someone like Frieza for their own personal gain and fears? I don't think so! Vegeta has become _the_ strongest being in the universe and _now_ you want him back? Please... As for Bardock the deserter, he is one of the finest leaders I've come across. Piccolo is just as honorable and the two of them have managed to build a powerful army made of people who seek refuge from two tyrannical empires. And as for me, yes I may be pregnant, but I have an IQ that is higher than all of these people in this room combined. And I don't know about you, but for a mere human who has faced Frieza twice and made it out alive I think I'm a pretty good asset to Vegeta's army of _misfits_. "

Bulma crossed her arms and rested them on top of her belly. She bit her lower lip and looked to Vegeta sheepishly. She had let her loud mouth and attitude take hold of her and mouthed off to a King.

Vegeta looked at her, amusement in his eyes.

The king on the other hand was anything but amused. "Careful, woman," He growled. "I will not be spoken to by a human whore."

Vegeta's uncrossed his arms and placed his hands on the table top, his muscles tense. "You careful, Old Man. I will not have you call my mate a whore."

The King's left eye twitched.

"My mate is right." Vegeta continued. "Why would I want to be a part of your army? Why would I want to help you, when I have other things in mind for you? And this offer is a slap in the face. You should be giving my Princely title back."

The eldest Vegeta straightened. "Know this, brat, you can try to de-thrown me but you will fail miserably." He narrowed his eyes at his son. "This is an offer I will make only once. If you refuse then I will assume that you are the enemy."

"Old man, you can consider me your worst enemy."

The King looked over to the guards that lined the walls of the dining room.

"If that is your wish..." The King growled and snapped his fingers.

Like lightening, three men approached Vegeta and Bulma from behind. Before they had time to reach them, Vegeta sprang up grabbing Bulma up by the arm with him. With his free hand he fired three balls of ki one after the other at the attacking guards, killing them.

He then spun around, shielding Bulma with his body, and took the brunt of an energy attack from the back, that came from another three guards from the other side of the room.

He turned around, with a cocky smirk. "That tickled."

With a thunderous roar, Vegeta's ki exploded into a magnificent flame of golden power. Relishing in the gasps of aw from the occupants of the room.

Still holding onto Bulma, Vegeta shot the guards with a powerful ki blast, knocking the three through the wall into another room of the palace. He then scooped Bulma up and turned to his father.

"The count down to your demise has begun, old man."

He then turned and blasted out of the room and towards the hangar where their ship was.

Vegeta was cursing in all sorts of languages as he sped through the maze like hallways of the palace and back into the glass tube thoroughfare, all the while knocking over people who didn't get out his way.

He wanted badly to rip everyone, especially his father to pieces. But he couldn't put his pregnant mate in danger.

He barreled through the hangar, and headed straight for their ship.

"Stop! By order of the King!" Screamed a random soldier.

Ignoring the shouts of the soldiers from behind, he sped up the ramp and closed it behind the both of them. He put Bulma down and ran to the cockpit, starting the ship up and blasted out of the hangar, pushing the ship to it's limits.

Bulma hurried to the cockpit and strapped herself in, knowing they were in for a bumpy ride.

Vegeta dodged the ki blasts that grazed their ship as he pushed the vessel up towards Vegetasei's atmosphere that separated them from the planet and space.

**Breaking planet's atmosphere in 5,4,3,2,1. **The female computerized voice chimed.

As Bulma sighed a breath of relief, the ship started to shake violently.

**Malfunction. Malfunction. Malfunction. Losing altitude. **

"What the fuck?" Vegeta screamed as he lost control of the ship and it started to plummet down towards the ground.

**Special thanks to AylaWilson16 =)**


	3. A New Tradition

**I am on a roll with my fics!  
**

** I do apologize for leaving you guys with a cliffhanger... but you may hate me after this chapter =) teehee.**

**This chapter is not beta'd. My buddy AylaWilson16 is on vacation and my other beta's computer took a poop =( sorry. **

**This chapter is a little bloody... so ye be warned.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or it's characters.**

* * *

"What are your next orders, My Lord?"

King Vegeta watched as the ship took off, rocketing towards the sky. Thirty of his men flying up towards the sky, firing ki blasts at the vessel.

"Call your men off, Have people ready. He will need to be transported to a regen tank as soon as the ship crashes."

Turles gave the order through his scouter and stood silently next to his King, as they both looked on at the ship as it climbed further and further upwards until it was just a small speck. And just a few moments later, the small speck started to get bigger again... falling out of the sky.

King Vegeta's mouth twitched. "We will proceed with the plan once he has fully recovered."

"What makes you think he will be willing to do your bidding?" Turles asked.

The King smirked. "I am about to take away almost everything that boy cares about. He will be broken, and yes highly pissed. But, I still have others to threaten if he doesn't behave." Vegeta chuckled darkly. "I will have two super saiyans at my disposal to attain Universal domination. Everyone will fear the Saiyans and they will bow to me."

Turles looked to his King and shuddered.

xXxXxXxXxXx

"What the fuck?" Vegeta screamed.

**Warning. Warning. Losing altitude. Thrusters at ten percent.**

Bulma unhooked herself and crashed to the floor of the cockpit.

"Strap yourself in you stupid woman!" Vegeta screamed at her as he muscled the controls. But it was no use, they were in a free fall.

"I have to get to the control room!" She got up and half crawled half walked out of the cockpit. "Keep trying the thrusters!" She screamed at Vegeta.

She shielded her stomach as she knocked into walls, unable to find stable ground, fighting her way to the control room. She opened the hatch and started to, as carefully as she could, climbed down the latter that led to the belly of the ship, where the control room located.

The ship bucked, sending her crashing to the floor, landing violently on her side.

Bulma winced and bit her lip as lightning bolts of white hot pain spread across her side and over her abdomen. She got up and went straight to the emergency thruster system and pulled down on the lever to turn it on. She hit a button turning the intercom on. "Try the thrusters again!"

She heard one set fire off in five second intervals, but not the other two they needed to keep from falling. At least the two that were firing off would buy them some time for her to figure out what the hell was wrong.

The ship leveled slightly and Vegeta regained a small amount of control, but the ride was still bumpy and even though they had some control, it didn't change the fact that they were dropping out of the sky. If she didn't fix the problem fast, they'd die.

Spinning around, she saw the control panel and yanked it open. All wires that fed the ship power, were cut. Which meant, the backup for the emergency thruster wasn't going to last very long.

Bulma winced as another sharp pain ripped through her. She pushed the pain aside and observed the damage. Wires and cords hung loosely and sparked sporadically.

This was not some fluke accident. Someone rigged the main control panel to blow, blasting the wires apart.

"Someone sabotaged the control panel!" She yelled.

"Can you fix it?" Vegeta's stressed voice boomed through the intercom.

"I...I think so."

"Then DO IT!"

She grabbed the wires, and grimaced as another flash of pain went through her. Again, she pushed it aside and concentrated on the task at hand... Rewiring something like this was child's play... but it was only child's play if you were in a stable environment, one that wasn't plummeting towards the ground.

Bulma grabbed the loose wires and started cutting the plastic sheathing with her teeth and spliced and rewired them by hand. Her nimble fingers bloodied in seconds from the razor sharp metal of the wires.

Another sharp pain ripped through her abdomen. Something was wrong...

But she continued on, frantically putting the wires back together. The life of her child and mate in her bloody hands.

**Thrusters at 40 percent. **The computer's calm voice announced throughout the ship.

"Whatever you're doing down there, keep it up!" Vegeta hollered at her.

Tears ran down Bulma's cheeks as searing hot pain stabbed at her again and again, not noticing the small trickle of blood running down her leg, staining her pants.

Her fingers felt as if lightning bolts were going through them as she twisted and spliced the remaining wires together.

Her body shaking from pain.

* * *

**Thrusters at 80 percent.**

Vegeta bared his teeth as he muscled the controls of the ship, keeping them from going into another tail spin as the thrusters sputtered back to life. But, if they wanted to make it out of this alive, he needed the thrusters back at 100 percent. They were getting too close to the ground now and were going too fast to pull up with only over half of the thrusters working.

"Woman!" Vegeta screamed as he watched the ground grow larger and larger through the view window.

**Thrusters at 100 percent.**

He pulled up just before they made contact with the ground, and blasted upwards towards the heavens.

That was a close one. Another minute and they would have been flattened like a pancake. Vegeta stayed in the cockpit until they left Vegetasei's atmosphere and was safe in the abyss of space. His heart felt as if it were going to break through his chest cavity, and he needed a moment to regain his composure.

He put the coordinates in for Utopia in the nav computer and then went to find Bulma. She hadn't said anything or come back up from the control room for that matter.

"Woman?" A wave of panic took over him when she didn't answer. He broke out into a dead run and ignored the ladder altogether, jumping down to the control room.

The sight before him knocked the air right out of his lungs.

Bulma lay on the ground in the fetal position, clutching her stomach with bloodied hands. Blood was pooled underneath her and her face twisted in agony. Her eyes were scrunched closed while tears ran down her cheeks.

Vegeta ran to her and knelt down, not sure what to do. It was obvious that she was in pain and didn't know if moving her was smart, especially when he saw that the pool of blood was coming from between her legs.

"Bulma, what's wrong?"

She winced as she curled into herself. "Baby..." She swallowed a sob.

It took a few moments for the single word to sink in.

Vegeta scooped her up into his arms and flew up and out of the control room and to the small med bay on board. He placed her onto a hospital bed... and then paused. What now?

Bulma grit her teeth. "I fell on my side..." she panted. "Hit my stomach. It triggered premature labor." She paused as another contraction ripped through her. If that wasn't enough, she was sure she broke a rib and the baby was non too happy about what was going on. It moved frantically within her, trying to get out, kicking and rolling.

Vegeta straightened. "Holy fuck. What do we do?"

"You'll have to deliver."

What? No! No. No. No. He'd done it once and that was one time too many.

"It's too soon, woman! Don't you have something to take to stall labor until the child is ready to come out?"

Bulma shook her head. "No. When I fell, the placenta ripped. We have to get him out now!" She curled into herself as another wave of pain crashed over her.

Vegeta gave her an incredulous look.

"Vegeta!" Bulma screeched. "Don't you dare give me that look. Do you see anybody else here to do it? Now man up and deliver your child!"

He growled at his mate, but knew that she was right. This was now all on his shoulders.

"Go scrub up." She yelled at him as she tried to keep herself together through the pain.

He did what he was told and waited for her to tell him what to do next.

"In the cabinet over there, " She flicked her hand, motioning to the small locker looking cabinet just behind him. "There are capsules in there, get the one numbered 24, and open it."

He fetched the capsule and opened it. Three syringes appeared.

"The one that is filled with the yellow syrum," Vegeta picked it up. Bulma nodded. "Stick me." She panted as she pointed to her upper thigh.

He tore her pants off of her with a flick of the wrist and plunged the syringe into her thigh.

"What is this for?" He asked as he pushed the plunger down.

"This will prevent infection." She winced as the thick medicine spread through her.

Vegeta grunted and tossed the empty needle into the sink next to him. He briefly looked at the blood that was flowing steadily between her legs that started to drip onto the floor of the med bay. That couldn't be good.

"Ok, from my count," She paused. It was hard for her to speak, the labor pains were immense and it was taking everything she had not to scream until she passed out... To hell with talking Vegeta through this. She continued.. "my contractions are erratic and are right on top of each other, if they continue at this rate, the baby will die. You will have to break my water to regulate my contractions and to get things going."

If she weren't in agony, she would have burst out laughing at the look that Vegeta was giving her. His mouth fell open and he gave her a look of pure fear and disgust.

"And just how the fuck am I going to do that?"

"Use your ki, dumb ass! Just make sure not to hurt the baby."

Vegeta stood there. In all his years in the Cold Empire, he had never been asked to do something so... disgusting. The thought of sticking his fingers up _there_ and do _that_ was down right... gross.

"Gods, Vegeta! You act as if you've never stuck your fingers up there before!"

"Yeah, well that's different."

"JUST DO IT!" Bulma screamed.

Vegeta gave her a hateful glare as he placed a hand on the top of her rounded belly, feeling the muscles that encased his cub contract. He then used his other hand to break the bag of water using a weak stream of ki with his pointer finger. He was thoroughly disgusted at the fluid that instantly came gushing out.

"AHHH!" Bulma moaned. Her water breaking certainly got things moving along. Her contractions got stronger, almost instantly started going at regular intervals.

Vegeta stood there, his hand still on her belly. Feeling his cubs ki, he sensed that the boy was stressed from the commotion and was not going to leave his mothers womb willingly.

Bulma shot up into a sitting position, the urge to bare down and push overwhelming her. "I need to push. Do you remember what to do from the last time?"

Vegeta nodded. Yes, he wasn't able to erase the horrific scene from his brain. He positioned himself in front of her, awaiting her next move.

Bulma bared down and pushed with all her might. She had never intended on giving birth this way. She planned on drugs and a happy calm environment.

After ten minutes, Vegeta started to feel more comfortable, as he started to calmly talk to her, encouraging her to keep going. He rubbed the top of her belly in a downward motion, trying to coax the little prince out...

He could tell his mate was tiring. Her eyes looked sunken in as sweat poured down her face and neck, making her limp blue hair stick to her skin.

The prince looked down and was surprised to see a tuft of slimy lavender hair peeking out. He looked up. "The boy is crowning, Woman. Push."

Bulma nodded limply and pushed.

With every push, the child became more and more visible. It was as if instinct kicked in for Vegeta as he gingerly held onto the child's head and helped Bulma expel the cub out of her.

A loud and healthy cry from a newborn could be heard through out the ship. The sound was music to both his mother and father's ears.

The first thing he noticed was how small the boy was. He was born half a month early, but if he was anything like he or his mother, he'd come out just fine.

The boy's brown tail instantly wrapped itself around his father's wrist, and every doubt Vegeta had about the boy's health vanished. Even the boy was born pre-maturely, the power and will the emanated from the cub was immense.

Vegeta cut the umbilical cord with a flash of ki from his finger tips and then grabbed a large towel and rubbed the child down, gently getting rid of the blood and gore that the child had on him from being birthed.

He then wrapped his newly born son up with a blanket he found in one of the cabinets and handed him off to his mother.

Bulma smiled brightly at the bundle in her arms. She was in love and she would gladly go through all the pain and agony again for the small boy in her arms.

Vegeta looked at his son, who was nestled safely in his mates protective and loving hold. His chest swelled with pride for the both of them . He didn't even mind that his cub had purple hair...

* * *

She was exhausted, and wasn't sure how long she had been asleep. Bulma slowly opened her eyes and noticed she was no longer in the hospital bed she had fallen asleep in. Vegeta must have carried her back into their room after she had succumbed to much needed asleep. The lights were dim and she could sense Vegeta close to her. She moved her head slightly and the sight before her melted her heart.

Her son lay nestled in his fathers gentle hold, sleeping while Vegeta spoke to him in his native tongue. His rough voice was just above a whisper, the words rolled off of his tongue so easily as he told his new son a story.

She lay there, listening to the foreign words and watched, knowing this scene was a rare one and didn't know when she'd see such a tender moment again coming from the hardened warrior.

Feeling her eyes on him, Vegeta stopped speaking and looked up at his mate. A ghost of a smile played upon his lips.

"What were you telling him?" Bulma voice was scratchy and her throat was dry.

Vegeta stood up and gently placed the sleeping newborn in her arms. "I was telling him of his Saiyan heritage; about his birthright."

Bulma nodded and looked down at the baby. He was definitely Vegeta's son. The resemblance was uncanny, not counting the lavender hair.

"I want to name him Trunks, after my father." She looked up at Vegeta. "I know it's tradition for the next prince to be named Vegeta... but with everything that has happened to you and us...well... I believe it's time to break tradition. That is... if it's alright with you."

Vegeta crossed his arms and pondered her request. Although he did think the name Trunks was ridiculous, he did hear stories of his woman's father. A strong, brave and loyal soldier. Perhaps it was time to break tradition, and make a new one.

He nodded. "Prince Trunks, heir to the throne of Vegetasie." He smirked. It did have a nice ring to it.

Bulma smiled up at him victoriously. As she opened her mouth to say something, the alarms chimed, alerting them that they had an incoming call.

"It's probably Bardock. Sleep." He said and exited the room and made his way to the cockpit.

Vegeta hit the red flashing button and waited for the vidcomm to connect.

He tensed instantly as the picture of the caller appeared in front of him.

"Son. I see you are alive and well." Vegeta's father looked his son over. "Although you seemed to have seen better days. Did you finally get tired of your mate and kill her?"

Vegeta looked down at himself. His chest plate and arms where stained with Bulma's blood from delivering Trunks.

Vegeta's nostrils flared, anger making his ki flare around him. He ignored his father's question. "This is strike two old man. You continue to dig your own grave with your actions towards me and mine."

The eldest Vegeta chuckled. "Such a hot head. Although, I do believe you got that from me."

The prince crossed his arms tightly over his armored chest. "I assume you didn't call to chit chat."

"This is true." The King mirrored his son's stance and smirked. "It seems I under estimated your mate. She was able to re-wire the ships controls before you crashed. I had originally intended on her dying upon impact, leaving you a widower. I knew you'd come out alive, probably worse for wear, but..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"Why?" Vegeta bit out through gritted teeth.

"You are going to help me conquer our enemies. You will lead my armies into battle and use your new found powers to do my bidding."

Vegeta sneered. "And just what makes you think I will do your bidding, Old man? This was a 'one time offer' and I do believe I told you to go to hell."

The King smirked.

The ship jolted and an alarm buzzed next to Vegeta who was next to the flight controls, indicating that the ship was being pulled in by a tractor beam. His eyes flashed to the radar. A large ship was approaching his vessel fast.

"You see Boy, you're coming with me whether you want to or not." The King chuckled and ended the transmission.

Vegeta took off running down the hallways of the ship, and burst through the closed door of he and Bulma's bedroom.

The loud commotion startled little Trunks, making him whimper and then cry.

"What the hell Vegeta!" Bulma exclaimed. She had just dozed off after feeding the baby and not a few moments later, Vegeta crashes into the room. Typical Saiyan!

He eyed the bedroom wildly, grabbing a small bag and started stuffing Bulma's scouter, her pistols and a few various things she always had on her.

"What the hell is going on?" Just as she asked, the ship lurched again and a large clank could he heard off of the hull of the ship.

Vegeta remained silent as he finished throwing the objects in the bag and then scooped both she and Trunks up in his arms.

"Vegeta!" She yelled. He was acting crazy and it scared her. Something was wrong, obviously.

He flew down to the part of the ship that carried two escape pods that were similar to the one's he used while in the Cold Empire.

"Vegeta!" She screamed again. "Talk to me!"

Her mate hit the button to open the hatch of one of the pods with his elbow. "My father's men will be boarding our ship any second now."

Not a moment after he said that, the main hatch to the ship was blasted off and the footsteps of fifteen men, from Vegeta's count, could be heard. It was only a matter of time until they found where they were.

"You're coming with us right?" Bulma asked panicked, clutching her son close to her.

Vegeta placed her inside the cramped pod, tossing the bag full of her belongings next to her and started punching in coordinates into the nav computer.

"You are coming with us right?" She repeated, her voice high pitched.

He looked at her blue eyes that were now starting to water. He kissed her on her forehead and lightly ran a finger over his son's velvety lavender hair.

"Keep the brat safe, Woman."

"No! Vegeta please! Come with us!"

Vegeta shook his head. "I need to make sure they don't follow you or try to blast the pod. I will come back to you, Woman... we will be reunited. Go to the base ship and tell Bardock what happened."

He spun around to see a soldier run into the room and yelled into his scouter that he found them.

Vegeta twisted around and hit the button to close the hatch to the escape pod.

"No!" She sobbed. This could not be happening!

Bulma lurched forward to look through the small port hole to see Vegeta peering in. She put her hand on the glass, saying one last goodbye. He did the same, placing his large hand over hers on the other side of the glass. He nodded his head at her, silently telling her everything would be ok.

**Launch sequence activated. Blast of in 5,4,3,2,1. **

The last thing Bulma saw before the gas to initiate stasis was Vegeta get tackled by five soldiers. All the while he watched as his family flew away, praying to the gods above that they would arrive safely to base.

**WOOO! Fast passed huh? I got a request for more Tarble and Bulma interaction, and your wish shall be granted! Bulma is going to be one pissed off mama, and she will be taking revenge... that is all I'm gonna say!**

**Tell me what you think!**


	4. Stuck

**Hey guys, sorry for the delay. I had a hard time writing this chapter, I still don't like the way it came out, but I wrote and re-wrote and re-wrote it again and decided this chapter was as good as it was going to get. But big thanks to Mallie-3 for helping me! She gave me some great pointers and I now have a lot of twists and turns and super awesomeness planned for the upcoming chapters, thanks to her inspiration! So again, Mallie, my darling, thank you!**

**If you all haven't already, check out Ilqaf's fan art of Bulma and Vegeta in Dodoria's Dungeon on Deviant Art. Super awesome Leave a comment, show some love!**

**I also made cover art for the DL series. Check it out on Deviant Art under maymay B. Leave a comment, tell me what you think.**

**I received a review from Sadezanobia, suggesting I do a fic about B/V based off of the movie 300. Awesome suggestion. I will keep it in mind. As of right now I have my hands full with DL Book 2 and Point Blank. Once I have some free time, I'll look more into it. Thank you, Sadezanobia for the praises =)**

**To all of my other reviewer, as always thank you. Your reviews make my day! ... and I know you guys are probably tired of me asking, but please let me know if this chapter sucked and has made you lose interest in the fic. For some reason, I'm super paranoid about losing you readers. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

Vegeta was quickly contained by the soldiers that invaded his ship and was brought aboard his father's war vessel. They kept him in a small room, twenty soldiers surrounding him until they landed back on Vegetasei.

From there, he was led to the throne room, where he was currently waiting for his father, the bastard, to show.

His fingers twitched as he scanned the room full of soldiers, all waiting for him to make a move. He could easily kill them all, but in doing so, he would be putting his family in danger. He needed to make sure he stalled for as long as possible, until he knew Bulma and Trunks were far enough away... it was the only reason why he was not putting up a fight. Until then, he'd have to bide his time... and then, he'd massacre each and every one of them.

He couldn't help but scream at himself mentally for even taking a mate. This was the exact reason why he had avoided it in the first place. If it weren't for the damned woman and his brat, things would have played out much different... He let out a small growl as he scolded himself. Men without ties were never put in this kind of situation. He shook his head at the last thought.

...And man without ties led an empty, lonely life. Just as he did before he met the blue haired women, whom he loved down to the core of his soul. Something he would never admit out loud, not even to the woman herself... although, he was sure she knew.

His head snapped up when his father entered the room, his young brother trailing close behind him like a loyal dog. The scene made Vegeta want to vomit. How could someone be so loyal to such an asshole? He wanted to march up to the small boy and beat some sense into him. It was infuriating, really. The boy being influenced by the man since birth, his mother forbidden to have any kind of influence on him. Vegeta wondered that if it weren't for his mother, if he would be clueless and loyal just as his sibling was to his father.

The King stopped just a few feet in front of his enraged son, a large triumphant grin upon his face.

"I'm surprised you came so willingly." He chuckled, taking amusement in Vegeta's apparent anger towards him. "You _will_ lead my armies into battle. You _will_ kill my enemies, and conquer worlds in the name of me, _your_ King."

"I don't get you, old man. Why are you interested in me after all these years?"

The eldest Vegeta's eyebrow arched as he smirked at his eldest son. "Haven't you heard the saying.. 'Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer'?"

Vegeta lifted his chin defiantly. "You're damn right I'm your enemy, and I believe I told you to fuck off." His gravelly voice was low and filled with pure fury. "I believe this is the third time I've told you."

The King merely smirked at him. "You will do it."

The infuriated prince glared at him. "Fuck. You. I will do no such thing. You are not my King."

"Is that so?" The eldest Vegeta said and turned to a soldier, motioning to him. "We shall see about that."

At that moment, Vegeta felt as if he was having deja vu... Memories of when Frieza summoned him and his men into his throne room, and threatening his mate's life. It was something he never wanted to feel again.

Dread and panic filled him, his teeth gnashed together, as he felt Bulma's emotions explode behind him. His obsidian eyes grew large as he turned to see his mate, clutching their newborn child in her arms as she was being shoved in the room by a Saiyan soldier. The scene all too familiar to him.

"I think you'll do whatever I tell you to." His father said, chuckling. "Because, if you don't the child and the woman die."

Vegeta looked over to Bulma, who was desperately trying not to cry. She looked to her mate, eyes wide, silently asking him if he had a plan to get them out of this mess.

"I'm going to kill you." He growled out to his father as he turned back to him. "I'm going to rip you apart, just like I did Frieza." He began to power up and started to advance on his father.

"If I die, she dies." The king inclined his head, motioning back to Bulma. Vegeta twisted his head back to her and instantly stopped dead in his tracks, the blue flame of ki fizzled at what he saw.

Five of the king's men surrounded her, all of them had their arms extended, ki glowing in their palms, aiming for she and Trunks.

"I knew you'd come around." His father said. "Shame on you for trying to send her away. She and that Halfling of yours..." The King motioned to Turles, who in turn walked up to the Prince and attached a gold torque* around his neck, locking it with a small key.

Immediately, Vegeta felt his ki dwindle down to nothing in a matter of seconds. The effects of which made Vegeta's knees buckle and barely had enough time to catch himself before he fell on his face.

The King stepped closer to his son, peering down at Vegeta, who lay on the floor on all fours. "It's a new and improved ki suppressing device. It's not a bulky collar like Frieza made you wear, this is more sleek and in my opinion looks quite well on you." He announced, cockily.

Vegeta shakily got back up onto his feet and glared defiantly at his father.

"And how the hell am I supposed to lead your armies and conquer your enemies without ki?" He said, trying not to wobble from the dizzying effects of having his ki drained.

"With this." King Vegeta held out his right hand, showing a golden metal band that encircled the top of his hand and palm where a gold stone was embedded. "I can control how much ki you get." He outstretched his hand, palm facing Vegeta. He instantly felt his ki come back into is body. "I can give it back and take it away easily. So try not to piss me off... I'll know if you're up to no good, so watch yourself boy."

Vegeta looked to Bulma again and breathed a sigh of relief to see that she was no longer in harms way. The previous soldiers had backed off. "And what of my mate and cub?"

The King motioned with his hand to the soldier that had Bulma. She was promptly shoved towards Vegeta. He caught her and held on to her tightly, protectively shielding her from his father.

He could feel that she was weak and was having trouble keeping herself steady. The effects of birthing Trunks still had a hold on her. The boy hadn't been alive for more than five hours, he wasn't a doctor, but he was sure all of this was not helping her health. She needed rest and possibly some time in one of the regeneration tanks.

Vegeta looked up at his father, angrily waiting for an answer.

"You and your whore will live in the soldiers' barracks with all of the other elite soldiers. Be glad I'm giving you the privilege of such a lifestyle... I'd keep an eye on her if I were you though... such an exotic creature will surely catch the eye of some of my men." He smirked evilly at Bulma and then looked down to the sleeping infant in his mother's protective hold.

"It is a pity though. You, a Saiyan royal stooped down low and chose a human as your mate, and what's worse, you bred with her." He shook his head in disgust at the couple in front of him. "Such a waste." The King turned his back on his son and mate and headed towards the exit, but paused and turned back around to face Vegeta again. "I will make you into a true, blood thirsty Saiyan." He then left the throne room. Tarble following after his father.

"Come with me." Turles commanded, and led them out of the massive throne room.

Still in Vegeta's protective hold, Bulma looked up at her mate as they followed Turles. "What is it with us and throne rooms? We are always thrown into some sort of bad situation when we are in one."

Despite his anger, Vegeta cracked a smile and continued to look forward. "Yes, but you forget," He said loud enough for Turles to hear. ",I claimed victory in Frieza's throne room... maybe I will claim my victory in my fathers."

* * *

The elite soldiers' barracks were in the palace, which amazed Bulma. The palace must have been as large as a small city.

The area in which the living quarters were located in was clean, and surprisingly housed the elite soldiers and their families. It reminded her of the base ship she practically grew up on. There was a cafeteria and a common area, where people went to socialize, and a training facility, and a nice sized medical wing. Outside the premises were the palace grounds, which you would find people walking or children playing.

Turles brought them to their apartment, and lingered by the door as the couple looked over their new living area.

It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. It had a living area with a small couch, a small kitchen a small bathroom and two bedrooms.

"I had a servant supply your quarters with clothing and a crib for your cub." Turles said. "I will be back at six am to fetch you both, be sure to be in your Saiyan armor, Prince Vegeta." Turles turned to Bulma. "I will also show you to the labs, so be sure to be up and ready by then."

The Saiyan General looked at them, a flicker of concern and regret shone in his eyes as he gave them on last gaze and then left.

Bulma walked passed Vegeta and went straight to their bedroom, laying Trunks down in the small crib next to their bed. Exhaustion and the turn of events were weighing heavily on her, not to mention giving birth less than five hours ago. She felt week and if she was expected to get up and work just one day after giving birth, she needed to sleep.

Vegeta followed her and stopped at the doorway. He watched as she put Trunks, who thankfully stayed asleep, down in the crib. She lay down in the small bed next to it.

She was in more pain and discomfort than she was letting on, he could tell now that he wasn't occupied with his father.

"We need a plan." She said quietly, throwing her arm over her eyes.

Vegeta grunted. "Yes, we do." He could feel her try to hold onto consciousness, but lost the battle in a matter of minutes.

The prince turned the lights off and pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat. He wasn't tired. He watched as his mate and cub slept.

She was right, they needed a plan. They needed to outsmart his father, and hit him where it hurt. But most of all, he needed Bulma and Trunks gone from this place... This was his fight, and he didn't want to involve them if he could help it. It was his responsibility to see they stayed safe.

* * *

The small family awoke at five am. The newest edition let both parents know he was hungry and was quite pissed off about it.

Bulma fed him and watched as Vegeta groggily got up and got dressed in a pair of black under-armor that covered his legs and arms, along with white and red chest armor.

"I hate to admit it, but you look really good in Saiyan armor." Bulma smiled at him as he frowned down at her.

"Woman, I look good no matter what I wear."

Bulma rolled her eyes and huffed as he gave her a cocky smirk.

The smirk disappeared a few seconds later and was replaced with a look of seriousness. He sat down next to her on the bed and slipped on his white boots. "When you're in the lab today, look for anything that can help get us out of here. Try to retain any information that can be useful to us. Ask questions, but don't give yourself away. I'll do the same."

"Ok."

Bulma finished feeding Trunks and got dressed herself. She was thankful the clothes that were provided for her looked comfortable; a pair of black, loose fitting pants made of soft material and a black tank top and a pair of boots. She fastened Trunks into a cloth sling she fashioned out of one of Vegeta's shirts. His little tail snaked its way up and partially around Bulma's neck. She couldn't help but giggle, the soft fur of his tail tickled her neck.

Vegeta looked at his mate as she smiled lovingly down at Trunks. "He's bonding with you. It's important for cubs to be with their mothers the first few days of birth. You will be able to feel if he's in danger, if he's happy or sad. He will be able to tell if you are near."

"What about you, don't you need to bond with him too?"

"I bonded with him already, after you passed out from birthing him. Plus, I was already in-tune with him through you."

* * *

Right at 6am, a knock sounded at their door. Vegeta answered it, barely greeting Turles with an annoyed grunt.

"I will take your mate to the labs first." He announced and waited for them to exit their quarters.

Bulma made herself memoriz each turn they made down the main hallway to where the lab was located, thankfully it wasn't too far away from their apartment or the training area, where Vegeta would be spending most of his time.

They halted in front of large white double doors. "This is the main lab. You are free to come and go as you please, just make sure you stay out of trouble. I strongly recommend you find an escort if you are to be milling about the hallways by yourself, especially at night. Dinner will be at six, the King requests both of you to be present." With that he turned on his heel and motioned for Vegeta to follow.

The Saiyan Prince looked at his mate. "Mind your surroundings, Woman." He nodded at her and then turned to follow Turles down the hall to the training room.

Bulma took a deep breath and went through the double doors. Her eyes nearly popping out of her head at the size of the area and the wonderful tools and gadgets that seemed to glisten in the bright florescent lighting... She couldn't help but smile slightly; there was definitely a plus side to this shitty situation.

There were a few workers in the lab, who merely looked up at her curiously or ignored her completely. She stood there for a moment, waiting for someone to come up to her, but nobody did.

With an annoyed huff, she stomped over to a worker to ask who was in charge. She was stopped when someone lightly grasped her shoulder. She instantly turned around, ready to kick who's ever ass dared touch her, but ended up staring at the person in disbelief.

"Bulma?"

"Dad?"

The older man smiled at her. He hadn't changed a bit. His hair was shorter than she had remembered. He always wore it long, and the look suited him in his younger years. But now he was older and the cropped hair cut complimented him. He still wore wire rimmed glasses, which rested on his nose and his large, familiar blue eyes started to water as he looked over his now adult daughter.

Bulma rushed to him, awkwardly hugging him, making sure not to squish her son.

After they finally let go of each other, Doctor Briefs down at the small child that was wrapped snuggly across his daughter's chest. "Looks like I have some catching up to do, come to my office."

Bulma followed, trying to ignore the curious stares of the lab workers, who now seemed to be interested in her presence.

Dr. Briefs' office was somewhat large and was very cluttered. Bulma managed to find an empty chair and sat down.

"First, tell me why you're here." Her father said, leaning up against his desk.

Bulma sighed and chuckled. "Actually I think it would be easier to start with telling you about the events that led up to this." She paused and looked at her father, who nodded and waited for her to begin.

She told him about how Piccolo brought her to the rebel base as promised and trained her. How she used her genius gift to provide the rebel army with tools to help them and how she climbed the ranks in the army and was now a commander. She told him about finding and recruiting Vegeta and his men to kill Frieza, and how she and the Prince of Saiyans fell in love and were now mated and new parents.

"...this little guy is just a day old." She said looking down at the alert baby. His curious eyes looking up at her, making her smile.

Dr. Briefs removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wow, daughter. That was an amazing story... I just...just can't believe you are mated to the Prince, especially since his people are the ones that ripped our family apart."

Bulma tried not to glare at her father. She had to remind herself that it was true, Vegeta's father was the one who ripped her family apart, killed her mother and took her father away from her. But that wasn't Vegeta's fault. "Trust me when I say this... Vegeta is nothing like them... I mean, he's the most grumpy, conceded, and arrogant man you've ever met, but he's also loyal, strong, smart and I love him and he loves me.. And, deep down, his heart is pure..." She gave him a grimaced smile. "Sort of... But my point is, I wouldn't be with him if he was like his father. He is the universe's savior. He has killed one tyrant and he will stop his father."

Dr. Briefs could see his daughter was struggling with her emotions with what he said to her. But, he couldn't help it. For twelve years he worked under King Vegeta's rule, and for twelve years the hatred in his heart grew and grew for the Saiyan race. And now that he has reunited with his beloved daughter, it was hard not to be angry that she was mated with the son of the man that had ruined his life.

"Daughter, I don't like it. The Saiyan's are not to be trusted. They are cunning and ruthless and will do anything to gain power."

Bulma gave her father a scowl that would have put Vegeta's to shame. "You have no idea what he and I have gone through before we got here. He would do anything to protect me and Trunks... He has saved my life more times than I can count, he is a good man and would never use me to gain power."

"So what, now you feel you owe him? Is that why you're with him? Bulma, how could you be with the son of the man that is responsible for ruining the lives of the one's you love?"

Bulma stood up, jostling Trunks slightly, making him whimper. "You obviously are not listening to me. Vegeta and I are mated. Deal with it. He and I need to get out of here. I refuse to raise my son here while King Vegeta is ruling. Now you can help me find a way to escape if you choose to. If you choose not to, fine. Just stay the hell out of my way."

* * *

All eyes were on Vegeta.

He stood tall, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He glared at the crowd Saiyan warriors in front of him. He could practically hear their thoughts as he looked at each and everyone one of them; passing judgment on him... they hated him, who knows what kinds of things they thought they knew about him. He could tell by the sneers and glares and the not so quiet whispers... even some of them spat in the Prince's direction.

It was going to be hard leading them as his father commanded him to. Which, he assumed, was just another welcome home gift from the King. He knew in order to lead an army, your men needed to respect you, and these men did not respect him.

Turles was just a few feet in front of him. His hands clasped behind him as he too, glared at the soldiers. "The King has put Prince Vegeta in charge of you men." He paused as the crowd erupted with anger.

"He's a rebel."

"Sorry excuse of a Saiyan."

"He's probably a weakling, like his brother."

The shouts of the soldiers grated Vegeta's nerves. He clenched his jaw and shoved Turles out of his way.

"Shut your fucking mouths, all of you!" He roared, cutting the angry hollers and jeers short. Hi ki flared around him as he glared daggers at the crowd. "I'm not exactly happy about his either. I am not here out of choice... I don't give a shit what you think. Bitch on your own time."

"I will never follow your commands." One soldier yelled out to him.

Vegeta rolled his eyes and gave him a dismissive wave. "Then take that up with your King."

The same man stepped out of the crowd and in front of the Prince. The soldiers young face twisted in a hateful sneer. "You're nothing but a lowly piece of trash. You're lower than a third class weakling. You don't deserve to lead the elites."

"Is that so." Vegeta smirked at the young man, clearly irking the soldier with his cocky attitude.

"Yeah, that is so. What makes you think you can lead us?"

Even though he was not here on his own free will, he'd be damned if he was going to let some punk ass youngling talk shit about him and his power. Clearly they were not privy to his ascension. Or maybe they were and they were all brainless and had a death wish.

"Boy, I've been fighting battles before you're father impregnated your slut momma. You'd better watch it brat, it's been a while since I've had the pleasure of beating someone senseless. If you value your life, you will fall back with the rest of your comrades. I am much, much more powerful than you, and all of these men combined."

The young soldier shook his head at Vegeta and turned his head, looking at the men over his shoulder. "This dumb fucker thinks he's more powerful than me." The other men in the crowd chuckled, the young man turned back to Vegeta. "I'm an elite soldier and am top ranked in our class. So, you better watch it." He laughed defiantly at Vegeta. "Come on old man, give me your best shot. Let's see just how powerful you are."

Turles grimaced slightly, he knew the young soldier was a dead man. But, if Vegeta were to lead his father's men, he had to display his dominance over the others.

Vegeta's face was calm as he closed the space between him and the young man.

The soldier straightened and smirked at the prince, daring him to make the first move as he got down into a fighting crouch.

In a blink of an eye, Vegeta's fist connected with the soldier's face, sending him backwards, and landing on his ass with a thump. Vegeta stalked quickly after him, picking him up before the soldier had time to pick himself up. The other men parted, making room for the Prince.

Vegeta lifted the soldier up so his feet were no longer touching the ground. His fingers digging into the man's neck, making him claw at Vegeta's hand and gargle as he tried to get oxygen into his burning lungs.

"I'm not an old man, asshole. I'm 23 years old."

The young soldier's eyes grew large as Vegeta's blue aura turned bright yellow, his eyes turned teal and his hair phased to gold. With a large cocky smirk, Vegeta cocked his free arm back and punched the soldier in the gut with such force, he flew backwards and careened straight through a cement wall.

The Prince then turned to face the sea of soldiers, eyeing them wildly. "Anyone else, doubt me and my power?"

The crowd all seemed to shake their head at him and backed away from the golden prince. He then walked back to where Turles was standing.

"You may continue."

Turles nodded and continued his announcement to his men. While Vegeta just stood there with a smirk.

**A torque is a type of necklace.

* * *

beta'd by WithoutWingsX Inspired by Mallie-3

**It seems our couple are stuck on Vegetasei... The King is now in control of Vegeta's ki, making it impossible to escape. What a jerk face!**  
**In the next chapter; plans will be made, love will be put to the test and deception will run rampant.**


	5. Plans

**Hey guys! Long time, hasn't it? Well, in my defense, I had knee surgery and was recently diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritus (thats what was giving my knee trouble). And I'm only 29! Oy! That and I have suffered such horrible writers block, that I decided to take a few weeks off and come back with a fresh take on things. **

**That being said, I would like to thank you all for sticking with me and please keep your eye out for more updates to my other fics. I have no intention of dumping my fics and never finishing them... it just may take me a little longer to update. =)**

**This is unbeta'd, and a bit short. (I will re-read over this chap and re-load it if there are many errors) I wanted to get something posted for you guys. Oh and FYI, I really hate this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!**

XxXxXxX

Vegeta tugged at the torque on his neck. The damn thing was annoying him. Not only was it bulky, but it was ugly as sin... and it kept getting tangled in the chain he always wore.

He stood with his back up against the wall overlooking the training room that held over half of the Elite Soldiers. All of them engaged in a spar or sitting on the side lines, cheering and hollering at the others.

Nobody else seemed to have the balls to challenge him after he sent the cocky youngling through a thick cement wall, whilst demonstrating his power. Vegeta smirked at the thought. If only he could do that to his father...

"Prince Vegeta." Turles said, as he came to stand by him. "What are your thoughts of the Elites?"

Vegeta snorted.

The General eyed the Prince. "They are not to your liking?"

He looked to Turles and then at the sparring men. He shrugged . "They are adequate."

Turles nodded at him. "Your first mission will be in three days, I will send over the details via scouter later on this evening."

Vegeta grunted and continued to study his surroundings, trying to find anything to help he and Bulma get out of there. He didn't pay Turles any heed when he dismissed himself and exited the training area.

So far, he didn't find anything out. He really didn't think he'd gather much intel, but he still kept an ear and eye open just in case any of the Elite soldiers divulged any information. He found that men were just as talkative and loved gossip just like women. Many a-time he would over hear a fellow soldier, while still in the Cold Army, spread rumors and gossip about others.

It's how he learned Cui got the shit kicked out of him by a hooker for not paying for her services and how he tried to cover it up, telling people he had received the many marks and bruises from a victim of a purge.

Most of it was useless yet entertaining information. But once in a while there was a golden nugget of intel that would help him out.

The prince tensed as he felt the annoying woman, Endo come up beside him - a little too close for his liking- and leaned against the wall, mirroring his posture.

"My Prince." She greeted. Her voice was a low purr.

Vegeta gave her a sideways glance and tried hard to keep his upper lip from curling in disgust, but failed.

Endo looked at him, her smug smirk grew at his display of displeasure. "I hear your...mate... gave you a son."

Vegeta's tail tightened around his waist and grunted at her. The Saiyan woman rubbed him the wrong way. She smelled of his father. It made his brow furrow in question, but remembered Turles saying she was his mistress. That fact made him hate the woman even more. She was his mothers replacement... his hands itched to send his fists through the woman's chest cavity and rip out her organs.

The prince's lip curled into a devious smirk as he thought about maiming the woman and gave her another sideways look. She was very beautiful and surely used that to her advantage. She was arrogant and was so sure of herself. Maybe it was time for her to get a reality check...

Endo continued. "I hope you didn't name him after the King. The name is reserved for full bloods. The strongest of the strong..." Vegeta jumped when he felt something fury brush his bare bicep. He looked over to see Endo's brown tail running down his arm and continued to his thigh. "...Someone like you." She was now looking at him with hooded eyes and was biting her lower lip in a sensual manor.

Vegeta turned straight. This bitch was crazy. She just insulted his newborn son and then turned around and hit on him in the same sentence.

Calmly, the prince closed his eyes and took a deep intake of air. Endo's tail was making it's way to an area where only one woman was aloud to touch, and she wasn't _her_. All prior self restraint of not harming women went out the window.

In one fluid motion, Vegeta's aura exploded around him as he grabbed her by the tail and squeezed, hard.

The woman yelped loudly in pain, her face twisted in agony.

Vegeta calmly looked at her. "You dare insult my son?"

Endo tried to reach for her tail, but practically crumbled on the floor when the prince squeezed it, stopping her in her tracks.

"You had best watch yourself around me. The next time you insult my son or my mate, I will kill you without a second thought."

He gave her tail a good yank, almost popping it out of the socket and let go.

"Get out of here, you reek of the old man." He waived her dismissal and watched out of the corner of his eye as she skuttled out of training area, her tail dragging limply on the ground.

The scuffle grabbed the attention of the occupants of the room. Noticing this, Vegeta turned to the others. "That goes for you all as well. Stay away from my son and my mate and do not insult them to my face." His cool and calm demeanor, mixed in with angry aura made it that more intimidating.

The soldiers all nodded in unison, not wanting to be on the receiving end of the Prince's wrath.

He smirked. "Back to work." He growled and continued his vigil, watching and listening.

XxXxXxX

"-he's made it virtually impossible for Vegeta to escape. The torque controls his ki, and the King controls the torque."

Bardock growled and ran a hand through his spikes in frustration. "I just knew something like this would happen." He looked at the small vid-screen on his desk. "What of Bulma?"

"She gave birth on their ship before the King seized it and took them. Vegeta managed to send she and the brat off in a rescue pod, but the royal guard caught up with it before it could gain speed. She and the brat are safe for now."

Bardock nodded. "Well, if I know Bulma, she's already forming a plan to get them out of there. They will have to rely on brain power and not Vegeta's brute force."

The person on the other end of the vid-com grunted in agreement. "I will help her escape. She and the half-breed won't last much longer here. She's too much of an exotic specimen. The men are getting curious and the women are getting jealous. Give me 24 hours to get more intel on the Kings plan, the location of the Beast and get into contact with Bulma. By then the human will have a plan cooked up. I'll let you know how many men I will need for this rescue mission."

"Fine." Bardock nodded. "Good luck." He ended the transmission.

XxXxX

Bulma promptly stormed out of the lab. The argument between she and her father had upset her as well as broken her heart.

She had dreamt about finding her father alive, telling him of her accomplishments, what she had gone through and how she had done what he asked and used her brain power for good.

He completely snubbing and hating she and Vegeta's relationship was hurtful. Hell! He hadn't even said anything about Trunks! He was his grandson for goddess sake!

She took a deep breath and tried to look at it from his point of view. Yes, his wife was taken and brutally killed by the Saiyans and then taken against his will to advance technology for the King's selfish gain. She guessed she would hold some sort of hate for the Saiyan race.

...but still, if he couldn't get it through his thick skull that Vegeta wasn't bad, he was on the side of good, then to hell with him. Vegeta and Trunks is her family now, and nothing would change that... ever.

Bulma looked around and grumbled under her breath. In her anger she had managed to get lost in the twisted hallways of the palace.

Oh gods... the warning from Turles came to mind. '_Don't go anywhere without an escort'_ or something like that. She was in no position to defend herself. She was still recovering from giving birth and had a two day old infant strapped to her chest. She was vulnerable.

She cradled Trunks, who was sleeping, and turned around to find her way back to the labs or the training room where Vegeta was... whichever she found first.

As she power walked through the hallways, she got the sensation that she was being followed. But when she turned around to check, she was all alone.

_'Just your over active imagination. Just get back to the lab_.' She told herself.

She picked up the pace and tried to remember just which way she had gone. But with each step, she grew more and more frustrated with herself and how she let her emotions get the best of her. She stopped in the middle of the hallway and tapped her forefinger on her chin, she tried hard to concentrate and remember what direction she came from and couldn't help but think of Vegeta and what he always was telling her; _'Mind your surroundings, Woman._'

"Whoops." She muttered under her breath. "We just won't tell daddy about this little incident. I'd never hear the end of it." She looked down at the sleeping baby against her chest and half smiled.

As she started to step forward, a pair of hands darted out from a door, grabbed hold of Bulma tightly and covered her mouth. Her muffled scream was deadened by the large hand and the hold of whoever had on her made it almost impossible to get out of. The muscular body easily overpowered the small human and dragged her through a door, into a dark room.

The hold on her lessoned and Bulma took that opportunity to elbow her attacker in the ribs and head to the door.

'Ommph' The assailant grunted. "Bulma, wait."

A light flickered on and the blue haired scientist stopped in her tracks and peeked over her shoulder, stunned that whoever it was called her by her name.

With large, wide eyes, she turned completely to face Turles.

"Wha-?"

He put his hand up, telling her to be quiet. "I'm not here to hurt you, but I must be quick. I'm sure Vegeta sensed your fear and is on his way now to find you."

Bulma blinked at him.

"I am on the rebel's side. I am Bardock's eyes here, I have been since the beginning... I need to get you and your brat out of here before shit starts going down."

Bulma shook her head. "Why just me? Why can't Vegeta escape as well?."

He sighed again and pinched the bridge of his nose, just like Bardock does when he's frustrated. " The King has eyes on the Prince at all times, escaping with him will surely sign his death warrant since he has control of Vegeta's Ki. If he attempts escape, the King will kill him. The torque he wears not only controls his ki, but can also kill him by using his own ki against him. You will need to escape with the boy in order to keep Vegeta safe. From there you and Bardock can plan something."

She hung her head, looking down at Trunks. This was confusing and crazy. "I can't just leave him here." She said in a hoarse whisper.

"The minute Vegeta leaves on his first mission, the King will have you and the little prince executed. I know, I am the one who has been assigned to do it. Listen, the King has something big planned. Something huge that involves universal domination and a whole lot of people dying or enslaved. It will be worse than Frieza's rule... but he has yet to share the finer details with me. The only other person that knows is Tarble. I think it would be in your best interest to take him along with you. "

Bulma looked at him as if he had grown a second head. "Are you on drugs? How do you expect me to escape with a newborn and a creepy twelve year old Saiyan boy?"

Turles gave her a slight smile. "Aren't you the one that was boasting not so long ago that you have a very high IQ? You will think of something. Tarble is the only one, besides the King, that knows just what his father is planning. You have twenty four hours to plan it. I will get into contact with you by then. It's time you go, I'm sure Vegeta will be here any minute."

Bulma looked at him as she stepped towards the door. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"You will just have to have faith." He looked at her with a hard expression. "This escape will test the bond between you and your mate... be prepared."

Bulma wasn't sure what exactly that meant, but she brushed it aside as she quickly exited the small room. Not ten seconds later, Vegeta came barreling down the hall, golden aura ablaze, his fists balled and ready to tear apart anyone who dared harm his woman.

"Bulma! What's wrong!"

Bulma shuttered. She would never get used to his voice when he was in his ascended state. It was as if two being's were speaking and it was much more gruffer than his usual throaty voice. Something that was completely intimidating.

He halted in front of her and looked at her for injuries and then at the sleeping baby tucked onto her chest.

"I-I'm sorry, Vegeta. I fell and thought that I had crushed Trunks."

Vegeta visibly loosened his tense muscles and powered down. He frowned down at his mate. "Woman," He started.

"I know, Vegeta. I'm sorry."

He raked his fingers through his short black locks. "Why are you even here in the first place, alone? Woman, I will not always be here to protect you."

Bulma nodded her head. "I'm sorry."

Vegeta growled quietly in his throat. "Come, I will see you back to the lab."

He wrapped his tail around her waist and peered down at his son again. "What where you doing." He asked as they made their way back to the lab.

Bulma hesitated. Should she tell him about her run in with Turles and the escape she needed to strategize to save hers and her son's life... and inevitably her mates and billions and billions of people to boot?

"Uhm... well. I found my father." She peeked up at him. His agitation apparent as he looked down at her. "Well, long story short, he doesn't approve of us being together. He hates the Saiyans."

His tail cinched tighter around her and brought her up against his side where his muscled arm wrapped it's way around her slender shoulders.

"I got upset and stormed out. I lost my way in my anger and that's when I tripped and freaked out." Again, she peeked up at him. His brows furrowed and a few beats later he nodded once at her.

She let out an inward sigh of relief. He believed her.

"Do you want me to rip his arms out of their sockets to make you feel better?"

Bulma looked up at him in shock. "No!"

He shrugged. "Hmph."

They walked back in silence to the lab and to Bulma's happiness, Vegeta actually entered the lab with her.

The lab techs head's snapped up at the sound to the doors hissing open, and they all froze. Shocked gasps and surprised murmurs were heard and some even backed away from Vegeta's presence.

She had to suppress a giggle. At one time, Bulma would have thought Vegeta was scary. His muscle mass alone and stony expression he almost always wore was quite scary. But now, he was her husband, her protector.

Dr. Briefs came out of nowhere scurrying towards his daughter, until he realized that a large, angry Saiyan was holding her protectively. He halted just a few feet away from them and stared at Vegeta.

Bulma looked from her mate to her father and back to her mate. They were sizing each other up.

She cleared her throat. "Vegeta, this is my father, Dr. Trunks Briefs." She tried to keep her voice even, but couldn't help the bitterness when she introduced Vegeta to her father.

The Saiyan Prince regarded him coolly. "I understand you do not approve of your daughter and my union." It wasn't a question.

The doctor flinched at the Saiyans bluntness. His blue eyes shifted to his daughter and then back to the large Saiyan holding onto Bulma.

"Not particularly, no." He paused to see if his comment did anything to the prince, but was met with the same cool, indifferent stare he had come into the lab with. "She may be your…mate… but she is my daughter. So, if you harm her in any way, so help me I will find a way to kill you."

Vegeta chuckled. He now saw where his woman got her sharp tongue. "You obviously have no clue what you're talking about. I have no intention of harming your daughter, my mate and mother of my cub…" Vegeta's eyes narrowed on Bulma's father. "Although, I cannot blame you for hating the Saiyans. If they were responsible for killing my mate, I would feel the same way, I'd kill the person responsible." Vegeta smirked. "As a matter of fact I have… the last person that attempted my mate's life, I ripped their head off."

Dr. Briefs blanched at that tid-bit of information.

Ignoring the humans shocked expression, Vegeta turned to Bulma "Woman, do not go anywhere without me or that Bardock look-a-like. One of us will be back to get you." He lightly dragged his knuckles over her cheek and looked down at his son in a silent good bye. He then looked at the woman's father, and grunted some sort of goodbye and left.

Dr. Briefs blinked at the door, where Vegeta just exited. He then looked at his daughter. "Was he joking about ripping off someone's head?"

She smirked and tossed her waist long blue hair over her shoulder. "No, he wasn't joking. He ripped Frieza's head clean off of his neck. At the time, he thought I had died from a ki blast to the chest." She smiled a toothy smile. "It's kind of romantic, if you think about it."

Doctor Briefs shook his head in astonishment.

"Looks like baby Trunks is hungry. I'm going to feed him and then I have a project to tend to." She turned on her heel and headed to a quiet corner of the lab to feed Trunks without giving her father a second look.

XxXxXxX

Bulma researched everything she could think of about the Saiyans. Their anatomy, weaknesses, strengths and DNA. She decided she would use this information to obtain Tarble… she just had to figure out just how she would use her new found knowledge.

By the time her stomach started to growl Vegeta came and got her. She didn't bother saying goodnight to her father. He locked himself in his office after meeting Vegeta.

It was just as well, she was still angry with him. She all the sudden missed Piccolo. She knew the Namekian didn't particularly care for Vegeta, but he respected him as a warrior and an ally and more importantly, respected hers and Vegeta's union to one another.

As they made their way out of the lab, she groaned as she remembered that Turles had told them they were supposed to have dinner with the King.

"Do we have to have dinner with your father?" She whined.

Vegeta scowled. "Unfortunately, yes."

She groaned again as she let her mate guide her to the royal dining area.

Thankfully, the area wasn't full of the old Saiyan men that had joined them the first time they had dined with the King…The only person present was Tarble.

The little Saiyan instantly bristled when he caught site of his older brother and his mate. His disdain became even more apparent when little Trunks whimpered and shifted in the sling that sat on Bulma's chest.

The dinner was uncomfortable. It was only she and Vegeta, the King and Tarble. And again, Bulma and Tarble sat across from each other.

And as Bulma was caught in the silent stare off between the disgruntled Saiyan kid, she studied him. There was no mistaking, he was Vegeta's brother. He was very much a hot head, arrogant and quite the ass. When he wasn't trying to intimidate Bulma with his cold stare, he would interject when Vegeta was forced into conversation with his father. Trying to prove Vegeta wrong or belittle him.

As the evening wore on, it clicked. It was sorely apparent that the child was lost. He was eager for his father's approval and would do anything to get it. She could now see the difference between Tarble and Vegeta.

Vegeta was raised with a loving, caring parent –Alina- for ten years. Some of that had rubbed off on him… sort of. Even though he was given to that slimy lizard, he still grew to know honor and right from wrong. But Tarble… he was lost. Bulma could see it in his eyes. She knew she'd be doing the boy a favor taking him away from the influence of his father.

Miraculously, dinner went without a hitch, no casualties or blows thrown. The occasional insult was thrown around, mostly between Vegeta and his father, but that was to be expected.

Honestly, Bulma wasn't sure why the King wanted them there in the first place. Maybe he did it to make sure they knew he was in power and could tell them what to do.

XxXxXxX

Wrapped tightly in Vegeta's strong, possessive hold, Bulma lay awake. Her mind was whirling. She was grappling with herself about telling Vegeta about the 'great escape' she was about to pull off. If she told him that once he left on his first mission that she and Trunks were to be executed, he would fly off of the handle and end up getting himself harmed or killed, along with she and their son.

'_Why do these things always happen to me?'_

The twenty four hours Turles had given her would be up soon. This very well would be the last night she and Vegeta would be together for a while.

She looked up at his relaxed face and nuzzled her nose into the crook of his neck, and kissed it.

"I love you." She whispered.

He groaned lightly as he shifted slightly and hooked his tail loosely around her wrist.

"I know." He grumbled and sleepily kissed the top of her head.


	6. Sliver of doubt

**Hey Guys!**

**Sorry it took me forever to get this posted. I have my hands full, what with writing three fics =) But I know you all understand, right?**

**I announced this when I posted Point Blank's latest chapter... I am now on Twitter. I keep you all up to date on what I'm working on and when things will be posted. I'll take suggestions and would love to have some conversations with you all! Follow me bluescientist00.**

**Again, I thank all of you for the wonderful reviews! I do apologize for not responding to you all, I'm a slacker! **

**And, special thanks to my beta Springandbysummerfall. You're the best!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own a thing.**

* * *

Vegeta looked down at his son nervously. It was the first time he had been left alone with his cub, and wasn't quite sure what to do. Bulma told him that if he started to fuss, to pick him up. Thankfully, the boy wasn't fussing, he was just laying there, taking his surroundings in.

He sat down next to Trunks' bassinet and watched as his son's purple tail peaked the cub's interest, and clumsily tried to catch it.

His little cub was such an enigma to him.

"Do you understand what your mother and I went through to make sure you were born safe?" His usual gruff and gravely voice a soft whisper as he extended his hand, letting Trunk's tail curl around his wrist. He smirked as the soft fur tickled him. The small bundle gurgled in response to his question.

Flashes of Bulma being held by Zarbon and Frieza threatening his son's life entered his brain and he cringed at the thought, the scene's replaying in his mind. It was something he'd never forget...before he knew it more memories flashed in his minds eye; her being hit with Frieza's deadly ki ball, the moment he had thought he lost everything... and the power within exploded out of him. Power he knew laid dormant until that very moment.

His thoughts then shifted to the present. His mate's behavior was off. She had practically locked herself in the lab for the last two days, and when he asked what she was working on she'd shake her head and tell him it wasn't anything important.

She was lying.

And the mere fact that she was lying to him made him angry. But before he confronted her about her less than truthful ways, she blind sided him.

_'Vegeta, you know you can trust me, right?' _

He thought about her question. He knew he could trust her. In fact, she was the only being in the whole galaxy that he could trust.

She continued. _'I just want you to know, that whatever happens, you can always trust me. Always. And I love you.'_

He wasn't stupid. She had a plan up her sleeve, she almost always did. And she obviously was playing her cards close to her chest. And since he trusted her with every fiber of his being, he wouldn't push her into telling him just what she was up to. There had to be a good reason why she wasn't telling him. But still, the feeling of betrayal was still there, niggling at his brain. He tried to extinguish the feeling.

The Saiyan Prince wasn't sure how long he sat and watched his son, who was now asleep. But he knew it was late when Bulma came back to their quarters. She was tired, the dark circles around her eyes gave that away, and she was beyond stressed. Her facial features along with their bond told him so. But, she gave him a warm smile when she caught site of him looking at her.

"Why aren't you asleep?" She asked, sitting down on the bed next to him.

"I was watching the boy..." He turned to look at her. "I leave tomorrow evening for my first mission."

Bulma nodded. She knew. That's why she had been working nonstop to get what she needed done. She and Turles' plan would go into affect tomorrow morning and the thought brought tear to her eyes. She quickly turned her head so Vegeta wouldn't see.

Vegeta watched her as she pretended to fluff her pillow and started to strip her work clothes off. He furrowed his brows at her, but again, held his tongue and crawled into bed, welcoming her into his arms until they fell asleep.

* * *

It was business as usual the next morning. They both got up, got dressed, went to their respective places in the palace.

"I'll come see you before I leave today on my mission." Vegeta said squeezing Bulma with his tail.

She nodded, but kept silent, for fear of crying.

They both paused at the entrance of the lab. "Trust no one while I'm gone. Make sure to keep a weapon with you at all times."

"I will." Bulma responded quietly. She stood up on her tip toes and gave him a kiss. "I love you."

He gave her one of his patented smirks. "I know." He watched as she entered the lab and only left when she sat down at one of the many tables and waved at him through the glass walls.

Once he was out of view, Bulma went to work. She had less than two hours to get Trunks to safety and prepare for what she and Turles had planned.

She looked up across the lab at her father, who was slowly making his way to her.

"Bulma." He said warily when he got to where she was. "I don't know if-"

"No." She interrupted him. "Either you're in or out, Trunks."

Her father flinched at her harsh words, especially the way she called him by his name (which she had started doing ever since their argument, refusing to call him 'dad' or 'father'.).

"I need you to be the man you were years ago. The man Piccolo told me about before I was born. If you can't, then I will just have to put my life and the life of my son on the line." Bulma looked him dead in the eye. She wasn't fooling around, she was stressed and worried, and her father's wishy washy attitude was not going to be tolerated.

Dr. Briefs straightened his shoulders, furrowed his brows and took a deep breath. "Fine." He outstretched his arms expectantly.

Bulma smiled slightly at him and then took baby Trunks out of his sling. She gave him a hug and kissed him on the forehead. "Be good my baby boy." The boy gurgled happily at his mother. She looked up from her son to her father. "They should be there waiting for you. Make sure you're not followed. I'll see you in a while." She handed her son over to him.

The eldest Trunks took the boy and gave his daughter one last look. "Good luck."

Bulma merely looked at him. "Luck has nothing to do with missions likes these." She then caressed her son's lavender head of hair and watched as her father and son left the lab, making their way to safety...

Once they were out of the lab, Bulma collected the items she had been working on for the past couple of days. Now she had to wait until Turles gave her the signal.

* * *

Turles stood, arms clasped behind his back as his eyes followed the highly annoyed Prince. He was muttering to himself about killing his father and how he took joy in pushing him around, using his ki against him.

They had been beckoned by the King to go over last minute details of Prince Vegeta's first mission that would most likely launch them into a galactic war...

The Prince's pacing ceased when the youngest prince and King entered the throne room. Prince Vegeta turned towards his father, a deep frown gracing his lips as the King starting to talk at him regarding his upcoming mission.

The Saiyan General's eyes shifted to the youngest prince, who as always, walked to the furthest wall and leaned up against it. It was his habit as of late, especially if Vegeta was present. He'd stand in the same place, arms crossed and would brood in the corner.

He said a silent prayer for the events that were about to take place. If his and Bulma's plans didn't go exactly as planned, all was lost. This certainly was going to set off a chain of events that would either destroy King Vegeta's reign of terror or destroy the men and women that fought against it.

Turles pretended to reposition his scouter on his ear as he hit a button, giving Bulma the signal to attack.

* * *

Bulma sat in the hidden chamber that connected to the throne room. She had been there for a while now, sitting on a dusty chair with her eyes closed. She listened to the muffled sounds of her mate yelling at his father, who in return was yelling back at him. The sounds of his rough, gravely voice comforted her. She'd miss his yelling. The thought saddened her, but she quickly reminded herself that they wouldn't be separated for long... that is, if her plan worked out in her favor.

Her eyes flew open at the sound of the beep from her scouter.

It was time.

She stood and took a deep shaky breath. This was it. She quickly checked that her weapons were in place, both hand guns sat secured in their holsters, hugging her hips and thighs. The other weapons she had made in the past couple of days, too, were safely on her belt.

She made her feet move towards the door that opened to the throne room. Quietly, she turned the knob and was thankful that the door was concealed behind the heavy curtains that lined the walls. She stealthily walked towards an opening, while keeping close to the stone wall, so not to give away her position. And, just as Turles promised, Tarble was standing at the end of the curtains. His unhappy figure was just visible to her and was only a few feet away from her.

She readied herself, and charged at the young Prince.

A flash of blue and a yelp made Vegeta and the King stop mid yelling match and turn towards the ruckus. Both their eyes grew wide at the sight before them.

Bulma had tackled Tarble to the ground and had surprisingly overpowered him, using the element of surprise. In one fluid motion Bulma stabbed Tarble in the neck with a needle and plunged the contents of the syringe. The young saiyan prince yowled again as the thick serum spread through out his veins into his body. She then clamped a metal wristband onto him and looked up at the King, her grip on Tarble never faltering as he fell limp in her arms, and pulled him up, so she was standing.

"What have you done!" The King roared as he started towards her, lifting his hand as a ki ball formed in his palm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." She warned and held up his wrist. "See this?" She then held up her wrist that had a matching wristband. "If I die, he dies." She smiled sweetly at him and slowly started to back up, dragging the small, but heavy juvenile with her. "It's a rather simple design, really. If my vitals are terminated, then the wristband your son is now sporting, will send an electric current through out his body and send him into cardiac arrest."

The King immediately put his hand down. "You will pay for this little stunt, human."

"Uh-huh." Bulma rolled her eyes sarcastically and moved closer to the wall.

"Woman," Vegeta growled. He took a step forward. "What are you doing?"

His mate pulled one of her hand guns out and pointed it at him. "Don't come any closer, Vegeta."

He froze and gave her look of confusion mixed with anger and hurt.

Pointing her powerful weapon at her love made her heart sink, but she kept her serious facade. Her plan had to follow through, there was no turning back now. She reached behind her and attached a charge onto the wall she was in front of, hitting the timer to explode in thirty seconds.

"You have nowhere to go, human. Let the Prince go, before this turns ugly." Turles said, slowly stepping up to where Vegeta was standing.

Bulma sneered at him. "Turns ugly? This whole thing turned ugly way before this."

The King whipped around to his eldest son, his face twisted in pure fury. "Are you going to just let your mate do this to your own flesh and blood?"

Vegeta ignored his father. He was still looking at his mate, trying to break through the mental walls she had put up, blocking their connection. "Why?" His voice just above a whisper.

Bulma shook her head at Vegeta. Her hard mask cracking slightly at the site of her mate's betrayed face. She chose not to answer his question and slowly moved away from the explosive on the wall.

"What about the boy?" His voice was laced with anger. "Have you thought about him, and the consequences of your actions?"

Still slowly moving away from the wall, she looked at Vegeta, matching his fierce gaze, but to his annoyance she still remained silent to his questions.

As he started to walk towards her, the charge exploded throwing him backwards. The explosion left a gaping hole in the wall and Bulma wasted no time dragging the unconscious boy to the hole that now led to the outside.

"Don't take another step!" The King screamed.

"Fuck you," Bulma sneered and without another thought, tossed the boy out the newly made window. She then looked to her mate, and gave him a look that begged Vegeta for her forgiveness and jumped.

Turles, the King, and Vegeta ran and peered down over the edge, in time to see Goku catch Bulma. Tarble was slumped over Raditz' shoulder.

"STOP THEM!" The King screamed. But it was too late. The rebels boarded a ship that was hovering not so far away from the palace and in a blink of an eye, they were gone.

Vegeta stood watching the familiar ship blink as the suns reflection hit it and then disappeared fully into the earth's atmosphere.

She was gone. She left him.

"BOY!" His father screamed at him. "Did you know anything about this?" He shoved Vegeta in the shoulder roughly, making him stumble backwards.

He regained his balance and took a step forward, growling and baring his sharp teeth at his father. "If I knew anything about this, I would have been on that fucking ship, idiot!"

The King's rage filled face lost it's edge as he took his son's statement in. It was true. It wasn't a secret Vegeta was here on his own... his eyes flickered to the chunky torque around his neck. He narrowed his deep black eyes at the object and then at his son's equally pissed face.

"I suppose." The King looked up at the empty sky and then down at the wreckage that landed on the ground below. Palace workers and passer by's gathering around the large chunks of black granite. He chuckled. "Heh, looks like she left you to fend for yourself." He turned back to his son, who was staring at the ground, furiously. "You are a fool for thinking a woman like her would stay by your side." He sneered. "Look at it this way, she's done you a favor. She's taken that half breed abomination along with her, now you can concentrate on the Empire."

Fury burnt throughout his body and he knew that, if it weren't for the torque around his neck and his father controlling his ki at the moment, he would have burst into super saiyan. He made tight fists, in an attempt to keep himself and his growing rage in check... it wouldn't do him any good anyway.

Deep down he knew Bulma wouldn't betray him. She had a plan. He trusted her... And now things were making some sense. But the feeling remained, a sliver of anger towards his mate. Why didn't she tell him about her plan, and why did she leave him behind? And an even smaller sliver of doubt; did she intend of leaving him for real? Had she really grown tired of him?

No. No, that just couldn't be the case.

He'd find out soon, he supposed, what she is up to. She was smart, and until then, he'd endure these assignments his father gave him.

Vegeta looked up at him. "And what of Tarble?"

The King looked at him and shrugged uncaringly. "He was weak." He turned and walked to Turles. Vegeta looked after him with such disdain. What a purely evil asshole. What kind of father did this to his children?

* * *

The boy yanked at his unforgiving restraints. He still felt weak from whatever was injected into him and his head swam, making him feel drunk.

It took him a few moments to realize that someone was sitting in front of him, and quickly realized that it was the blue haired bitch. She sat there, legs and arms crossed and a patient look upon her face as she waited for him to gather himself and clear his head.

He tried lunging for her, but again was held back by the chains that held him down onto his chair. He growled weakly when she didn't flinch away from his attempt at intimidation.

"Calm down junior." Bulma said, unfolding her legs and leaned closer to him. "Don't want you breaking a nail."

"You will pay for this, you worthless piece of filth." He growled. "I will crush you."

Bulma smiled and stood. "Wooo! You sound just like Vegeta. Although, it sounds funny coming from a little wanna-be-bad-ass."

"RAAA! BITCH! LET ME OUT AT ONCE!"

Bulma ruffled his hair, earning her another growl. "Now now, short stack, no need for the vulgar language. I have some questions for you, and when I get them, I'll release you."

Tarble looked at her hatefully. "Feh! I'll never talk!"

She gave him her famous 'oh-really?' look and promptly slapped him on the cheek. The strike shocked him, his wriggling hands and legs froze as he looked upon the petite Earthling standing before him. He had never been slapped before. Sure, he'd be beaten whilst training, but never slapped, and never by anyone like her before... a lowly Earthling.

She bent down so her face was close to his. "You will answer my questions, and will answer them truthfully. And if you don't I will beat the fucking shit out of you." Her face was serious and her eyes sparkled with promise.

"You, a weakling, couldn't possibly hurt me." He smirked up at her.

He didn't see it coming. Her small, but powerful fist connected with the same cheek she had slapped just moments ago. She gripped the top of his chest armor, pulling him forward.

Her lip was curled, mirroring her mate's intimidating facial features. "You may be right, but at this moment, the serum that is coursing through your body has weakened you. I can easily over power you in your state. And don't think for a moment that I won't. You don't know who you're dealing with, I was brought up by the Demon King himself. I am mated to your brother, a super saiyan, who has taken it upon himself to train me. If I wanted to, I could break your puny little neck with my pinky finger. So, shorty, let's cut the bullshit and get down to business."

Tarble exhaled in defeat.

She was an equivalent to a female Saiyan, and knew now why she was his brother's mate.

* * *

beta'd by: Springandbysummerfall


	7. Voices

**Hi! Been a long time, hasn't it? Sorry about that. **

**Be sure to add yourself to my and Mallie_3's Bulma and Vegeta community! The link is on my profile, along with our youtube channel's link, where you can watch our weekly live video podcast where we discuss B/V fanfiction, the fandom and we have special guests on each episode. Just last week we had Piccolo is Green on, and in the near future we will have Tempestt on =) We are also having a Bulma and Vegeta, Disney themed fanfic challenge. You wanna do it? PM myself or Mallie_3 or check out our community… the more the merrier! **

**Big thanks to you all, reviewers and ghost readers alike! Also, as always, BIG thanks to Springandbysummerfall for beta'ing and giving me some ****pointers =)**

**WARNINGS: Cursing...duh.**

**Disclaimer: My couch has a hole in the leather…pretty sure if I owned DBZ, I'd be able to afford to buy a new one, right?**

* * *

He held the wriggling form in his hand, smirking evilly down upon it.

The creatures large purple eyes silently pleaded with him to be freed, but his grip tightened, taking pleasure in the helpless whimpers and the fingernails that dug into his strong hold on their shirt.

"Pathetic." He sneered as he shook the alien much like a rag doll.

His voice didn't even sound like it was his. The small voice that whispered in the back of his mind told him so, telling him that there was something wrong with him. What he was doing was wrong…he shook his head, ridding the thought out of his head and peered into the eyes of his victim.

So familiar.

He looked deeply into its eyes… and slowly the aliens face morphed slowly into a familiar woman's face. Blue eyes and blue hair, beautiful…

…his mate…his wife…his love…

"_Vegeta, don't… Come back…"_ Her soft voice whispered, making him shiver involuntarily.

The prince flinched and shook his head again, and the face of his beautiful wife faded away and was replaced with the alien who was now pleading for its life in its native tongue.

With a growl, he tossed the small form away from him.

"Leave before I change my mind." He said disgusted…more with himself than anything else.

He watched as the alien scurried away until it was out of sight.

"What was that about?"

Vegeta turned around to see Turles just a few steps away from him, eyeing him questionably. "Not in the mood to play today?"

The Prince snarled at the General and turned away from him, looking back in the direction that the alien ran off to, contemplating sending a ki blast in its general direction…but as he lifted his hand and started to collect ki, the damnable voice spoke to him again, telling him to stop…the sound of her feminine voice made him grit his teeth and had to fight the urge to grab his hair and pull as hard as he could just to shut her up.

He needed to hit something…hard. He twisted around and punched a soldier who was next to him and only felt mild satisfaction when he watched the soldier drop like a heavy stone in water.

* * *

Turles watched Vegeta with a wary eye as he marched away. He'd been by the Prince's side ever since Bulma escaped with Prince Tarble. And as the days turned into weeks, he watched the Prince slipping, turning into someone that he wasn't. But to his relief, Vegeta would snap out of it more often than not.

The very first mission they went on after Bulma's escape, Vegeta refused to do anything. He stood next to the war ship, arms crossed defiantly, refusing to participate. And after a heated and public screaming match broke out between son and father, the King simply drained his ki and beat Vegeta to a bloody pulp.

This went on for a day, and when Vegeta still refused to cooperate, Turles watched as the King bent down and whispered something into his son's bloody ear. As the words sunk in for Vegeta, his eyes widened in what looked to be horror and then narrowed hatefully.

The prince stood up slowly and glared hatefully into his father's eyes. Turles could see the pure rage in Vegeta's face. The King obviously had threatened his son somehow, and it was apparent that if the King didn't have control over the boy's ki, he would have been killed already.

Shortly after, Vegeta helped clear out the remaining sectors of the planet and then they headed to their next mission.

And that is when Turles noticed a change in the Prince. Turles didn't really think anything of it at first, Vegeta was purely acting on Saiyan instincts. A smirk here and there while clearing an area, a laugh that was so eerily similar to his father's when doing something particularly bloody or sinister, or even the look of enjoyment when decimating a whole town full of men, women and children. That was just something that made a Saiyan a Saiyan…at least the one's that enjoyed that kind of stuff.

But as time went on, Vegeta, Turles noticed, was full out enjoying the murder and mayhem. He would play with his victims by torturing them to death or maybe make them decide who died first…

This unsettled Turles. Bardock had sent detailed reports about Vegeta… according to Raditz and Nappa, Vegeta never acted this way on missions when in Frieza's army. He'd simply get the job done, there weren't any torture sessions or anything of that nature…

When the changes in Vegeta started, he would snap out of it… but lately he wouldn't snap out of it until he had caused death or destruction, sometimes both. And when that happened, the prince would seclude himself from the others…not that he was a highly sociable person with his men in the first place…

When speaking to him, Turles could see the wildness in Vegeta's eyes. Something that reminded him of a caged beast who was just waiting to be let loose…He seemed unbalanced, which worried Turles immensely.

The General would send reports, stealthily of course, to his brother whenever possible. Telling him where the King was sending them, updates as to what they were doing and Vegeta's state of mind…

Their key person to their freedom was slowly going mad.

He scratched the back of his head and let out a large sigh. Something needed to be done soon with the Prince. He knew that Vegeta was confused and hurt, not so much about what Bulma did, but because she hadn't told him of her plans. But, he had later learned that Vegeta had feared that he would never see her or their cub again, and the only reason he knew that was because Vegeta let it slip when he drank too much ale one evening. That fact, plus being surrounded by Saiyan soldiers and getting a taste a true Saiyan purging mission, had brought out something in the Prince that he had never seen before, since he had been sent away at such a young age. Being with two other Saiyans opposed to being surrounded by upwards of a hundred made a large difference in their influence.

Turles prayed to the gods that his brother and Bulma had gotten the information they needed out of Tarble to destroy the King and were planning something…and soon…for the sake of Vegeta's sanity.

* * *

Tarble rubbed his bruised cheek and cursed while he pushed food around his plate. The blue human had done a number on him, and unfortunately the serum she had injected him with a few of weeks ago still was affecting him.

His brother's mate meant business…she was able to get a lot of information out of him with a few punches to the kidney and a couple of hard blows to the face and head. But, he still was holding a lot of vital information from them, and when he refused to talk, Bulma calmly got up and left the interrogation room, smiling at him as she closed the heavy door behind her.

As he waited for the Blue human to return he kept going over his training he received from his father. He knew his youngest son was weak in strength, but he made up for it in mental stamina and sheer stubbornness. Something that his mother had told him he got from his father. His father made it a point to drill him in the arts of interrogation… but simulating being questioned and actually being put in its real life situation were entirely different.

He screamed at himself for giving the human information, but he still had one vital piece of information regarding his father's plans that he wouldn't ever tell. There was no way he'd tell them…he'd take it to the grave, and would laugh as the beast destroyed them all!

With a renewed sense of strength, he sat up straighter in his chair and played with his binders while he waited for Bulma to reenter the room.

When he heard the heavy metal door open, he kept his eyes down at his hands, and smirked. "I'm done. You will not get anything else out of me. You all can burn in hell for all I care, you and my brother-" He looked up and choked on the last words.

His mother sat in the chair Bulma had been sitting. She said nothing, but had a look of discontent and motherly disappointment.

One look from her and he crumbled.

…And now, a couple weeks later, he was still black and blue from his sister-in-law and was now under the ever watchful and almost militant eye of the queen.

It was taking him time to get used to his mother…he had only been allowed little visits with her before she faked her death. The King had drilled it in his head that she was a worthless and dishonorable female who shouldn't have the honor of being called the Queen of Saiyans, and was surprised she whelped two brats with half a brain in their heads. Tarble would constantly catch his father cursing her existence, even after her 'death,' when he disappointed him.

Frankly, Tarble was confused… his mother didn't seem worthless as his father had told him. Nor did she seem dishonorable or stupid… this made him angry. He didn't want to believe that his father had lied to him about such a thing, which in turn made him even more of an angry adolescent.

He rubbed his sore cheek again and stared angrily at the blue human who was eating across from him. The young prince snarled at her silently, but it was cut short when his mother elbowed him and gave him a look that told him if he didn't stop now, she'd make him regret it.

Tarble sighed heavily and defiantly looked at his mother, but decided it wasn't worth the beating he'd get from her and concentrated on his full plate of food.

* * *

Turles' frustrated growl reverberated throughout Bardock's war room through the com-link.

"That crazy son of a bitch." His disembodied voice grit out.

"Its an act of desperation..." Piccolo said, getting up from his chair.

Bulma blinked up at her pseudo father. The information Tarble had given them just a couple weeks ago, plus Turles' news about her husbands slipping mental state was not helping her mental state… so much so that she almost felt numb.

"It is an act of desperation. But the King has succeeded with gathering the two most strongest beings in the universe, and Vegeta's mental instability is just an added bonus that helps his cause…" Turles sighed yet again. "This is all making sense now. I've always wondered why the King kept Paragus and his lunatic son around… we just need to figure out what he has planned for both Vegeta and the beast son of Paragus. Has the young prince not told you what the King has planned?"

"No. Just what Bulma and the Queen was able to get out of him." Bardock said. "But I assume he will be using the two to overthrow the Colds. Even before he was King he would talk about ruling over not just our galaxy but all galaxies. And the Colds have control over most of them."

"It makes sense. We've been slowly taking over the planets the rebels have not secured, and according to the mission list we are heading straight into Cold territory." Turles said and then cleared his throat. "Bulma?"

She straightened and looked at the communicator on Bardock's desk. "I'm here."

"I think you will need to meet up with us soon. Maybe you can help Vegeta get back to the mental state we need him in. We are going to a trade planet to refuel and give the men a day or so of leave time in a few days."

Bulma closed her eyes. She wanted nothing more than to see Vegeta, but was wary about it since she had left him, and especially now that he seemed to be losing his mind.

"I will go."

* * *

Bulma shivered when another large bead on water rolled from her drenched hair down her back. She sat on her bed in her old apartment on the base ship she and Vegeta shared for a short time before they moved to Utopia.

She stared, unseeing, ahead of her in the darkness of the room, concentrating on the bond between she and Vegeta. She had kept a block on her feelings, only making it possible for him to know she was alive, but unable to feel what she was feeling or catch any random thoughts from her.

It was hard when she first left him. She felt him trying to contact her, to feel her, but she had to stay strong and block him out. She needed to concentrate on the mission, but now that Turles said her husband was acting coo-coo, she was trying desperately to feel him…

Bulma tried doing so while in the shower, but only got snippets and fragments of muddled emotions that she couldn't decipher…and then a flood of feelings hit her all at once. Hate. Confusion. Madness. And morbid happiness… She nearly hit the tile shower floor when she felt as if she got tunnel vision and her eyes were not seeing her surroundings anymore… The dizzying effects of whatever this was made her whole body shake, and she blindly stood up, holding onto the steamed tile as her eyes adjusted to the alien scenery.

Wherever this vision took her to was some sort of desert. Even though she could feel her surroundings and not what her eyes were seeing, she could tell this place was dry and hot. Besides sand dunes, there was the occasional cactus plant and could see heat rise from the brown sand in the distance… her movements didn't match the movements of her vision, and it seemed that she was flying at a leisurely pace through the desert and was then descending to the ground where a few men were congregating…and as the ground got closer she saw that they were Saiyan soldiers, and she recognized the eldest in the group…Turles.

The General turned and looked in her direction, mouthing something that Bulma couldn't hear. The sound of the shower flooded her ears, which made this experience that much more confusing.

Turles continued to talk at her and watched with interest when he pointed to a cluster of sand dunes just a few miles away. He then turned back to face her and handed over a scouter, and was startled to see hands grab them and put them over her left eye.

She watched as a foreign language started scrolling across the screen and gasped when she caught one word.

**Vegeta.**

She was seeing through Vegeta's eyes.

Bulma sunk to the tiles and watched as Vegeta took off and landed at the dunes Turles had pointed to just moments before. He twisted around to see a mass of aliens huddled together, shaking and scared to death.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she witnessed next.

A dirty, white glove lifted palm up, pointing directly at the mass of men, women and children.

"No..No Vegeta. Don't do it."

Her vision shook, as if he were shaking his head and then looked back at the scared beings. His hand started glowing blue, brighter and brighter and then released the energy in their direction.

The blast blinded her momentarily…but when the dust settled, all that remained was charred sand and smoking parts of bodies.

"NO!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. "NO!" Her breathing became erratic and she felt as if she couldn't get enough oxygen in her lungs.

Bulma regained consciousness some time later, still shaking from the crazed experience she had in the shower. She shakily got up from the now cold wet tile floor, absently got a towel and left the bathroom. She made it to the bed and her legs just couldn't hold her any longer.

So now she sat, drenched and shaking, trying desperately to get into contact with her husband through their bond.

She kept telling herself what she saw wasn't real. But she knew she was kidding herself. She knew what she saw was real. And it only proved Turles' point. She needed to save him before he was lost forever.

A loud knock on the door startled her out of her trance like state.

"Who is it?"

"Me." The gruff, muffled voice of Piccolo announced from the other side of the door.

"Give me a second." Bulma slowly got off the bed and grabbed a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt that was lying on her computer chair and put them on.

She opened the door and Piccolo entered wordlessly, his antennae twitching as he looked at her with his always-serious look. Bulma watched him as he pulled her computer chair out from the desk and sat down, looking at her expectantly and patiently as she made her way back to the bed and sat down across from him.

She was intrigued. Piccolo rarely, if ever paid her a visit in her quarters.

"Where's the boy?"

Bulma glanced towards Trunks' empty basinet and then back to her father. "Chi-Chi has him, she's helping me out."

Piccolo grunted and then narrowed his eyes on his ward.

"What is it Piccolo?" Bulma snapped.

"I saw." He stated plainly and kept her hard gaze.

"Saw what?"

"What you saw, just a while ago."

Bulma shook her head. Piccolo was telepathic, but he usually either blocked everybody out or ignored the things he heard. Plus he was limited in range. If you weren't close to him, he wasn't able to hear you.

"Were you standing at my door?" She stood up angrily. Her patience running thin.

"No. I was in my room when I saw it. It was a powerful blast of psychic energy…I couldn't block it either. I'm sure you figured out that you were seeing through Vegeta's eyes, and now you know what Turles says is true."

Bulma's angry demeanor broke at his words. He just validated something she didn't want to believe. She sat back on her bed and buried her face in her hands.

Piccolo continued. "I'm not sure that you felt the same thing I felt…but something is very wrong with your husband. The madness was radiating off of him, and I can't help but think his father has something to do with it." He cleared his throat, almost nervously. "I used the link through the both of you and saw that you are keeping him anchored to keeping his sanity…but that anchor is slowly slipping, and I'm afraid that if you don't do something he will go insane. And I'm not sure he'll ever come back from it."

"How come I didn't feel what you felt? I couldn't hear or feel anything. I just saw. This doesn't make sense! I have a bond with him, you don't."

He shrugged. "Like I said, it was a powerful blast of psychic energy, and I saw the opportunity and took it."

Bulma slumped down onto her bed. This was just too much.

Piccolo stood. "I think the little prince is still keeping something from us, and I think what is happening to Vegeta has to do with it. I think you should question him before you go to Vegeta."

As he walked to the door, he looked over his shoulder at Bulma. He looked as if he wanted to say something else but thought better of it and left her to herself.

Some time later, Bulma was dressed and was now heading towards her mother-in-law's quarters, determined to make the little shit of a brother-in-law spill the beans, once and for all.

She knocked and drummed her fingers impatiently, waiting for Alina to answer the door.

"Bulma." Alina greeted with a warm smile, but it faded when she got a good look at her. "What is the matter?"

"Is Tarble in?"

The queen's eyes narrowed slightly and nodded an affirmative. "What is wrong? Has he done something to you?" She asked as she let her in.

"The only thing the little shit has done is withhold valuable information from me. I need to speak with him now."

She knew the queen did not appreciate her calling her youngest son a little shit, but Alina held her tongue, knowing that he was more than difficult. He hadn't made their lives easy since Bulma absconded with him and brought him there. He was moody and confused, which made him act out negatively.

"I'll go get him."

Bulma paced anxiously while she waited for Alina to fetch Tarble, thinking only about her husband and if she would be too late getting to him.

"What do you want?"

Bulma turned at the sound of voice and charged him, smirking as his body easily slammed up against the wall he was next to.

"Get off of me female." He spat. "Mother, you're going to let her do this to me?"

Alina calmly sat in a chair and shook her head. "Yes. And you had best come clean son. Because if you don't, she wont be the only one to beat you bloody."

"Listen here short stack." With her free hand, Bulma grasped his chin, making him look her directly in the face. "You're going to tell me why Vegeta is losing his mind. What has your father done to him?"

Tarble looked at her and then away, refusing to tell her.

"Tell me, or I swear to god I will kill you." Bulma grated out in a deathly low whisper.

Tarble looked at her again but still remained silent.

"You don't have to be loyal to him, Tarble." Alina said. "Just tell her."

"What will happen then, hmm, Mother?" He said, baring his teeth. "Why should I help you save the one person who I had to compete with? He was absent throughout my life until now, and I still had to prove myself to Father. He doesn't deserve the name Vegeta. I do."

Bulma let go of his face and backed up, looking at the young Saiyan prince. Alina too was looking at Tarble with confusion.

"What are you talking about?" The queen asked.

"Ever since I could remember, Father would compare me to Vegeta. Tell me I was worthless compared to him, berated me for my weakness. Constantly told me that if I were the first born he would have gladly given me to Frieza instead of Vegeta. I was just getting into his good graces before you two came and screwed things up for me."

Bulma and Alina looked at him in bewilderment. He was crying now as he took a rugged intake of air and shook his head. "I endured so much from Father, but I knew that if I stayed the course I would be the man he wanted me to be…" He looked up at his mother now, his reddened eyes filled with sadness. "You never tried to protect me." He said quietly.

Alina gasped, and right then and there Bulma knew he was just a scared little boy who was lost and confused due to a shitty father, not the hardened wanna be bad ass Bulma had thought him to be.

"My son," Alina walked up to him, but did not try to embrace him. "Know that I wanted to protect you. I tried to, please know this. And in return I was beaten almost to death each and every time. The thing I regret the most was not being able to protect you or your brother from your father. You two have endured two different hells and I am so very sorry for that. But please know that I am here and there is no way in hell I am going to let you go through that again." She lifted her hand slowly and caressed his tear stained cheek. "Now please son, please tell Bulma what she needs to know. If we lose your brother, there is no hope for a peaceful future."

Tarble closed his eyes, looking like he was contemplating what his mother had just said. When he opened them again, he looked directly at Bulma.

"The torque is causing him to go insane. Paragus' son has gone through the same thing...they aren't sure why, but it amplifies his saiyan tendencies… he's almost animalistic, especially when engaged in battle…that's all I know."

Bulma nodded. "Thank you Tarble."

The young prince merely gave her a single nod and then looked down at the ground.

"What are you going to do now?" Alina asked.

"I'm going to meet up with Vegeta, and see if I can get the torque off…let's pray to the gods that he hasn't succumbed to the madness."

* * *

The torque seemed heavier than normal. He felt it as it slowly leached his ki from his body. Something his father took pleasure in, no doubt, while he was not on an active mission.

Vegeta tugged at the thick metal absently as he speared another piece of meat with his fork and chewed. The rumblings of the soldiers in the mess hall of the ship buzzed in the background, annoying him. He needed peace and quiet. But even when he was alone, the voices screamed at him, making him want to drive his head into the thick steel walls of the ship repeatedly.

He stared unseeing towards the empty seats in front of him as he ate, earning him questionable looks from the others as they passed his table. He knew he was losing it, and it seemed the more he fought the voices, the voices would come back louder, slowly feeding him lies and contorting his thoughts and reality. He wasn't sure what reality was his anymore….Was he the prince his father turned his back on, giving him to the maniacal Lord Frieza, spending years in the ranks of the Cold Army silently plotting out thy tyrants defeat, who fought and defeated the lizard and became the legendary? Or was he just a crazed psychopath that craved the blood of the victims of purge missions?

Never did he feel the need to maim and torture when on missions…He was all about the quick kill. Sure, if he and his men were in engaged in battle, he'd take pleasure in stomping them, relishing the win, beating them senseless before killing them…but now…now he took absolute pleasure in playing with his victims before he gave them a particularly gruesome and horrifying death. He had skills he didn't even know he had in the dark arts torture, which surprised him…his race was ruthless, and yet, even some of his soldiers cringed at what he had been doing.

But what made this worse was feeling and at times hearing his mate. He could feel that she was worried about him, and she would project her undying love for him, which was happening more often than not as of late. At first he fed off of it, used it to fight the voices off…but the voices were stronger than her connection with him and eventually they drowned her out…although he wasn't sure if it was her or if it was yet another voice trying to fill his already mentally unstable brain with lies.

As he went to stab another piece of meat, her sweet voice drifted into his ears and echoed inside of his skull.

'_Vegeta_.' It whispered. He felt her trying to nudge her way into him, trying to put him at ease. Up until she had left, he had never heard her voice telepathically, and he wasn't sure why it started now…another piece of evidence that he was going mad.

'_Don't listen to the bitch_.' The other voice hissed, sounding like a demon straight from hell. '_She is nothing but a stupid bitch. Ignore her. She won't let you have any fun. Just a few more hours and we'll be on our next mission… killing. Maybe we can find a nice female to have fun with..._'

He smirked at the last part. It had been a while since he had gotten any action with Bulma… and it seemed like fun…

Vegeta's thoughts then went to his mate and the thought of raping or even just hiring a whore repulsed him.

'_Don't be a bitch. She left you, took your cub. She doesn't want you anymore. You're free. Just like your father, she handed you over to the enemy. Just goes to show you, you can trust anybody but yourself. You're better off that way._'

He dropped his fork and dug his hands through his hair and pulled as hard as he could, scrunching his eyes shut. The demon's voice spoke truth. Bulma was just like his father. He trusted her, just as he did his father. And they both hand delivered him to the enemy. His trust in her broke.

Her voice again rang throughout his head. '_You know you can trust me, right Vegeta? No matter what happens, just know you can trust me. I love you.'_

Soon the other one started to talk over her, telling him that it was lie. Everything she said was a lie.

He growled loudly. The inner battle was starting to give him a splitting headache. He stood up and struck the table he was sitting at, effectively splintering the wood and breaking it in half with one powerful blow.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP! THE BOTH OF YOU!" He screamed. His chest rose up and down heavily and spittle flew out of his mouth. He turned around, noticing the mess hall had grown silent. Everyone had stopped what they were doing and was now staring at him.

"What the fuck are you assholes staring at?" He roared and stalked out of the room, all the while pulling his hair and talking under his breath to somebody that wasn't there.

* * *

beta'd by: Springbysummerfall


End file.
